Brazil investigates major INSS social security fraud schemes

Brazilian authorities are investigating two distinct social security fraud schemes involving the National Institute of Social Security (INSS).

In Sergipe, the Federal Police launched Operation Atestado Viciado II to investigate the use of falsified medical reports to obtain disability benefits. The investigation has identified 19 fraudulent requests involving forged psychiatric and neurological reports, resulting in an estimated loss of R$ 650,000. Investigators are looking into a lawyer who allegedly scheduled evaluations by posing as a relative of the claimants.

In a separate, large-scale operation known as Operation Leste do Espinhaço, prosecutors have charged 35 suspects with a scheme that defrauded the state of approximately R$ 86 million. This group utilized “biometric doubles”—elderly individuals who lent their faces and fingerprints to represent non-existent beneficiaries—to bypass security measures. The scheme involved obtaining late birth certificates from notary offices to create false identities, allowing for the fraudulent collection of the Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC). Authorities estimate that interrupting this scheme has already saved the government over R$ 35 million.