Man convicted of fraud for selling same land to three buyers in Brazil

A man has been convicted of fraud in Santa Catarina, Brazil, after selling the same rural plot of land to three different buyers in Benedito Novo. The incident dates back to 2017 and was adjudicated by the Criminal Court of the Timbó district.

According to the Public Ministry, the accused entered into private purchase and sale contracts for the same area with three individuals. One victim reportedly lost R$ 21,000, while another suffered a loss of R$ 18,500. During interrogation, the man confessed to selling the property to multiple buyers and admitted to receiving the payments without reimbursing the victims.

The court determined that the transactions were successive sales of the same area, involving minor alterations to the property descriptions in the documents to facilitate the scam. The judge ruled that the case was not a result of measurement errors or boundary confusion.

The defendant was sentenced to three years of imprisonment in an open regime. The prison sentence was replaced by restrictive rights, including the payment of fines to the three victims and community service. The sentence was issued on August 24 and is subject to appeal.