Palmas court orders man to pay R$ 456,000 for affective fraud

A civil court in Palmas, Brazil, has ordered a man to pay R$ 456,000 in damages to his former partner for committing affective fraud. The ruling, issued by Judge Ana Paula Araujo Aires Toribio, found that the man exploited the victim's trust and feelings during their year-long relationship to obtain financial advantages.

According to the court proceedings, the man induced the woman to take out loans using her property as collateral and made her transfer funds directly to him. The judge rejected defense arguments claiming the losses were merely a business risk, instead finding evidence of bad faith and deceptive conduct.

The total compensation includes R$ 406,000 for material damages and R$ 50,000 for moral damages, addressing psychological impacts such as anxiety, depression, and the stress caused by creditor harassment. The judgment applied the National Council of Justice’s Protocol for Judging with a Gender Perspective to account for the power asymmetry and structural vulnerability present in the relationship.