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Decision of the 7th Criminal Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice Confirms That Daughter Deceived Illiterate Elderly Mother With Fake Inheritance, Used Card and Password for a Loan of 10 Thousand Reais, Made Successive Withdrawals and Will Have to Repair the Damage With a Conviction for Fraud
The 7th Criminal Chamber of the São Paulo Court of Justice confirmed the conviction of a woman for fraud against her own elderly, illiterate, retired mother. The Court recognized that the daughter took advantage of her elderly mother’s vulnerability to perpetrate a financial scam, using the familial trust as the main weapon.
The case originated in Diadema, in Greater São Paulo, where the elderly mother handed over her bank card and password to her daughter, believing a story of inheritance told by her and an accomplice. The fraud resulted in the hiring of a loan of 10 thousand reais and successive withdrawals, which were only discovered when the victim noticed unexpected deductions from her retirement, years after the scam began.
How the Scam Affected the Illiterate Elderly Mother
According to the case documents 1502266-19.2022.8.26.0161, the daughter and a man who acted as an accomplice told the illiterate elderly mother that he was about to receive an inheritance and needed to use her bank card to resolve supposed formalities.
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Trusting her own daughter, the elderly mother handed over her card and password without understanding the consequences of the act.
The lack of formal education and the condition of illiteracy made the elderly mother even more vulnerable to the ruse.
She had no understanding of banking operations, nor of the details of the alleged business involving the inheritance, which facilitated the acquisition of sensitive data.
The familial trust, which should have served as protection, was distorted into a central instrument of the crime.
Loan of 10 Thousand Reais and Series of Withdrawals
With the card in hand and the password memorized, the daughter and the accomplice went to the bank and secured a bank loan of 10 thousand reais in the name of the elderly mother.
The amount was not used for the benefit of the victim, but appropriated by those involved through successive withdrawals, carried out without her real knowledge.
In one incident, the elderly mother even accompanied a withdrawal at the bank, but, as recorded in the ruling, she did not fully understand the operation being performed.
For the Court, this physical presence does not eliminate the initial deception nor turn the act into a mere civil matter of unpaid debt.
Instead, it reinforces the continued use of the victim’s trust and vulnerability to give the withdrawals an appearance of normalcy.
Court’s Understanding of Intent and Fraud
In analyzing the appeal, the reporting judge highlighted that the victim, being an elderly and illiterate mother, was led into error by the false promise of inheritance presented by the accomplice and endorsed by the daughter.
The panel concluded that there was clear intent, that is, a deliberate intention to obtain illicit advantage at the expense of the victim’s retirement.
The defense’s thesis that there was no intent, or that it was merely a case of civil non-fulfillment, was dismissed.
The Court emphasized the set of elements present in the case: fabricated inheritance story, obtaining of card and password, clandestine contracting of a loan in the name of the elderly mother, and successive withdrawals made without transparency.
For the judges, this set accurately characterizes the crime of fraud.
Penalty, Regime, and Damage Repair Imposed on the Daughter
The 2nd Criminal Court of Diadema had already convicted the daughter for fraud.
In the review made by the 7th Criminal Chamber, the sentence was resized to one year, six months, and twenty days of imprisonment, in an open initial regime, as well as the payment of 10 thousand reais as damage repair to the elderly mother.
In practice, the open initial regime allows the convicted person to serve the sentence outside a closed prison facility, but under conditions imposed by the execution court.
The obligation to repair the damage, in the same amount as the loan obtained, reinforces the understanding that the funds diverted from the elderly mother must be returned, even if belatedly, as a minimum response to the crime.
Vulnerability, Familial Trust, and Criminal Responsibility
The ruling highlights that the condition of an illiterate elderly mother increases the severity of the fraud, as it evidences a direct abuse of familial trust and the social fragility of the victim.
Instead of protecting, the daughter used privileged access to the mother’s financial routine to structure the scam.
By considering the simulation of the inheritance, the use of the card, the appropriation of resources, and the late discovery of deductions in the retirement, the Court concluded that the case goes beyond any discussion of mere domestic financial conflict.
This is a consummated fraud crime against an elderly mother, with a direct impact on the victim’s subsistence income.
Message From the Ruling for Other Cases of Abuse Against Elderly Mothers
The decision of the 7th Criminal Chamber of the TJ-SP sends a clear message for similar cases where elderly mothers or other vulnerable relatives are used as instruments for financial scams.
The panel reinforces that the bond of kinship does not reduce the gravity of the crime, but can, on the contrary, aggravate the perception of reprehensibility of the conduct.
In this context, the São Paulo Justice reaffirms that the fact that the victim was present during part of the bank transactions, without understanding what was happening, does not turn the episode into a simple family misunderstanding.
When a relative takes advantage of an elderly mother’s trust, takes her card and password, and contracts loans without transparency, the appropriate response is criminal accountability.
In your opinion, cases like this of scams against elderly mothers should always result in effective imprisonment, or would alternative penalties with full damage repair be sufficient to prevent further abuses?
Deveria pegar no mínimo 5 anos de prisão em regime fechado.