Alexandre Eduardo Ferreira Lopez, brother of the president of the National Confederation of Farmers and Family Entrepreneurs (Conafer) – one of the institutions involved in the case that became known as INSS Spree, bought a Hilux in 2017, which was stolen from the garage of the Federal Police in Brasilia – which at that time was located in the South Police Sector.
In the history of the negotiations, Alexander introduced himself as Conaver’s lawyer. He received the installment for the car in the amount of 60 thousand Brazilian reals, through Cicero Marcelino de Souza Santos, advisor to Carlos Roberto Ferreira López – President of the Foundation. The second process that Capitals After gaining access, Cicero brokered the purchase through a power of attorney and made payments to the alleged owner of the truck.
The report concluded that the police seized the car on August 14, 2017, as part of the police investigation. But the next day, an unknown person stole the car from inside the unit. The disappearance was not noticed until six days later, during an internal procedure. There is no explanation in the operation documents as to how the Hilux left the company premises.
The truck was found again by the National Police on 28 March 2018, when Alexander was driving the vehicle on a residential block in Southwest (DF). When contacted, the lawyer stated that he bought the car on September 15, 2017, about a month after the theft, from a resident of Al Bahia. He said he did not know it was a stolen car.
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Alexander also announced to the police that the goodwill offer had been recommended by the client. He was interested in purchasing, and was going to delegate to Cicero the task of obtaining from the seller a power of attorney that would expedite the transfer process. They both claim that all documents have been registered with a notary.
According to the lawyer, the installment was paid in three installments: R$50,000, R$7,000, and R$3,000. But the total value of the car was not revealed in the process.
The procedure in court was rejected by the judge
After the federal police seized the car again, Alexander and Cicero took the case to court. In the lawsuit, the lawyer demanded the return of the Hilux and compensation for moral damages and legal fees.
The responsible judge rejected these requests. He stressed in the decision that the vehicle was impounded in a police investigation when it was stolen from the unit, and that “any kind of business” related to the truck “is unable to resolve its irregular situation.”
After the initial refusal, the judge asked Alexander and Cicero to submit their income tax returns, in order to analyze the free justice request. Months passed without them submitting documents or returning to the process.
Facing the stalemate, the court declared the case dismissed, without deciding on the merits, due to a “clear lack of procedural concern.”
the Capitals I could not find a defense for those mentioned in this report. Federal police were called, but did not return the call as of this text’s last update. The field remains open for possible demonstrations.
INSS party
On November 13, the Federal Police executed arrest warrants that led to the arrest of important figures in the scheme of illegal deductions applied to retirement and pensions at the National Social Security Institute. Among the targets was Cicero-Marcellino.
The final phase of Operation No Discount, implemented by the Patriotic Front in partnership with the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), directly affected the former directors of the institute and directors of entities that benefited from the fraudulent system.
The investigations target crimes such as entering false data, criminal organization, social security fraud, active and passive corruption, and money laundering.
Among those investigated for arrest warrants were:
- Alessandro Stefanotto – former President of INSS;
- Antonio Carlos Antunes Camilo, known as “Careca do INSS” (already imprisoned at Pabuda, in Brasilia);
- Vinicius Ramos da Cruz – President of the Institute of Land and Labor (ITT);
- Thiago Abrão Ferreira Lopez – director of Conaver and brother of the entity’s president Carlos Lopez;
- Cicero Marcelino de Souza Santos – businessman linked to Conaver;
- Samuel Crisostomo de Bonfim Junior – also a member of Conafer;
- Andre Paulo Felix Fidelis, former Director of Benefits and Citizen Relations at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS);
- Virgilio Antonio Ribeiro de Oliveira, former INSS prosecutor;
- Thaissa Hoffmann, Virgilio’s wife
Carlos Lopez, the president of Conaver, was also one of the targets of the Federal Police (PF) operation. He has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, but did not surrender and was not arrested as of Monday (11/17).
How the scheme worked
The group used INSS partner entities, associations and organizations to insert unauthorized association fees into the official system, which were automatically deducted from the payments of retirees and pensioners.
The scam affected millions of beneficiaries, many of whom only discovered the scam after noticing a permanent decrease in the amount received each month.
Reports of cash generating units indicate that the entities investigated maintained internal agreements that allowed the improper distribution of collected amounts and the transfer of large amounts without transparency or standards.
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