Brazil woman sentenced for posing as 12-year-old girl

Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, a 38-year-old woman in Brazil, has been sentenced to prison for fraud and identity theft after posing as a 12-year-old girl for over a year. Living in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Oliveira successfully deceived a family into adopting her under the name ‘Gabriele Ferreira dos Santos’.

To maintain the ruse, Oliveira used baby bottles and pacifiers, spoke in a high-pitched voice, and claimed to have autism and a history of abuse. She even convinced the family that her adult appearance was due to forced hormone treatments during childhood. The deception was uncovered when a relative conducted an internet search and discovered her involvement in similar scams in other Brazilian states.

Following her arrest on June 2, investigators linked her to multiple alleged scams across several states. A court in Santa Catarina sentenced her to one year, six months, and 10 days of imprisonment, plus 4 months and 18 days of detention. While her lawyer argued the deception was a means of survival for a vulnerable person, prosecutors maintained she acted consciously to obtain material benefits and subsistence from her victims.