A lawyer withdrew R$151,400 from the legal account of a dead woman using an invalid power of attorney. The Court ordered the case to be sent to the MPF and OAB-ES.
Marcia Biasutti died in July 2022, but the court order was withdrawn on May 28, 2024. The power of attorney presented was dated June 8, 2023.
Lawyer Paulo Sérgio claimed good faith and said he had received the document from his colleague Freddy Francis. Freddy was shot dead in May this year in Guarapari.
The original lawyer for the case pointed out signs of fraud in the power of attorney. The defense of the estate will seek judicial compensation and identification of those responsible for the looting.
A lawyer withdrew R$151,400 from a court account on behalf of a woman who had already died. The withdrawal was made at a Caixa Econômica Federal branch, in Vila Velha, Greater Vitória, with a power of attorney signed almost a year after the death of the beneficiary, who passed away in New York, in the United States.
The money was from a court order that Marcia Rosa Biasutti Silva had to receive after winning a lawsuit against the National Social Security Institute (INSS). She died on July 5, 2022, but lawyer Paulo Sérgio dos Santos Lopes managed to withdraw R$151,477.32 on May 28, 2024.
The power of attorney presented by him was dated June 8, 2023. In other words, it was issued when Marcia had been dead for almost a year.
The case came to light when Marcia's widower, responsible for the inventory, approached the Federal Court to request the release of the court order. During the analysis of the request, he was informed that the money had already been withdrawn.
The 1st Federal Civil Court of Vitória considered the power of attorney used in the operation invalid and ordered the case to be forwarded to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the Brazilian Bar Association in Espírito Santo (OAB-ES), for analysis of possible irregularities.
The decision was handed down on September 9 of this year. The court also recognized the right of the widower and the beneficiary's son to the precatório amounts. As the money had already been withdrawn, any criminal and civil responsibilities must be investigated in specific procedures.
The decision does not represent a criminal conviction of the lawyers involved.
In a statement presented to the Court, Paulo Sérgio stated that he acted in good faith and said that he was unaware of the death of the beneficiary.
According to him, another lawyer, his colleague Freddy Francis Rangel Mariano, approached him, introduced himself as Marcia's representative and handed over the power of attorney for him to withdraw the court order.
Paulo Sérgio stated that, before the withdrawal, he checked the status of the woman's CPF at the Federal Revenue, in May 2024, and verified that the document was listed as regular.
According to the statement, he kept 10% of the amount, as fees, and transferred R$136,300 to Freddy on May 30, 2024. The lawyer presented receipts and accountability documents to support his version.
The investigation came up against the fact that Freddy Francis was murdered in May this year, in Guarapari, on the coast of Espírito Santo. The body of the 47-year-old lawyer was found on the 18th of that month, in the town of Jaboticaba, with gunshot marks and a cut on the neck. A client and his wife were arrested on suspicion of the crime.
So far, there is no indication of a relationship between the murder and suspected irregularities in the withdrawal of the precatório.
In the decision, the Federal Court highlighted that the lack of knowledge of the beneficiary's death and the claim that the money was transferred to another lawyer do not make the withdrawal legitimate.
According to the court, Paulo Sérgio had the duty to verify whether the professional who gave him the power of attorney had valid authorization to represent Marcia.
Lawyer Geane Miller Manchesther, who represented Marcia in the action against the INSS, stated in a statement presented to the Court that she does not know Paulo Sérgio or Freddy and that she has never maintained any personal or professional ties with either of them.
She pointed out signs of fraud in the power of attorney and asked for the responsibility of the lawyers involved to be determined, in addition to questioning the actions of Caixa Econômica Federal in checking the documents presented to release the money.
Geane also clarified that the court order had been requested in February 2022, five months before the beneficiary's death. According to her, the procedures carried out before her death were regular.
The lawyer stated that she only became aware of the death when the amounts were made available for payment. He also reported that there was no previous communication from the family or automatic updating of this information in the process.
Lawyer Victória Colen de La Fuent, who represents Marcia's estate, reported that the heirs knew of the existence of the court order, but were unaware that the money had already been paid.
According to her, the Federal Court recognized the invalidity of the power of attorney used for the withdrawal. The defense awaits the progress of the investigations and clarifications on the destination of the amounts.
The intention, according to Victória, is to adopt the appropriate legal measures to identify those responsible and seek reimbursement of the money.
The Federal Court ordered the case to be forwarded to the Federal Public Ministry, for analysis of possible crimes, and to the OAB-ES, to investigate possible disciplinary infractions.
In a note, the MPF reported that, despite the process being processed in Espírito Santo, there are no attorneys from the agency in the state working on the case.
The OAB-ES informed that it does not provide consultation on the existence of possible disciplinary proceedings.
Caixa Econômica Federal was contacted to clarify the circumstances of the withdrawal and inform whether there was an internal investigation into the operation, but there was no response until the publication of the report.
