A YouTuber from Rio de Janeiro, accused by at least 15 women from different Brazilian cities of carrying out “love scams” against millionaires, has fallen into the crosshairs of the Civil Police (PCDF) and the Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT). The reason was a loss of 124 thousand Brazilian reals. The victim is the scammer’s ex-girlfriend, who resides in Brasilia.
Behind the curtain of a YouTube channel with around 467,000 subscribers, and an Instagram profile with over 600,000 followers, is Fernando Drummond Fernandez (Featured image), 41, is the target of love fraud allegations made by women with whom he had romantic relationships.
Fernando presents himself on social media as a journalist and writer. He claims to be a cousin of Carlos Drummond de Andrade, one of Brazil’s greatest poets, and even the Duke of the Brazilian royal family.
The influencer also uses the titles of United Nations (UN) Peace Ambassador, member of supposed academies and unknown entities, leader and defender of Brazilian historical and cultural heritage, as well as an honorary doctorate in literature, human rights and legal sciences – all without any official or legal basis.
See photos of Fernando:
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On his YouTube channel, Arquivo Estranho, Fernando promotes a life in which he talks about “religiosity, the paranormal, true crimes, UFO science and other secrets,” according to the description on the page. According to the victims, there are also videos in which he records attacks on his enemies.
The women the YouTuber partnered with claim they were deceived through false promises, unpaid loans and psychological violence. Because of the financial and emotional damage to the victims, victims seek compensation in court. One of them, a resident of SP, is demanding compensation of more than R$1 million.
A friend from the capital
Camila*, a resident of the Federal District, had a month-and-a-half relationship with Fernando, in 2022. Although the relationship was short, it was characterized by bouts of domestic violence. In addition to the emotional wounds, the YouTuber left the victim with a loss of R$124,000.
During this same period, the scammer also had a romantic relationship with another woman from São Paulo. This was the person who suffered losses of over R$1 million because of Fernando.
The relationship began with a Brazilian citizen virtually, and the couple saw each other intermittently between the Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro air bridge. According to the victim’s complaint, Fernando was an aggressive person and morally abused her throughout the relationship.
Early in their relationship, the YouTuber asked Camila* to make a bank transaction, claiming she had been threatened by a militia.
She even asked him about the situation, but he started pressuring her to feel sorry for him. Fernando was quoted as saying at the time: “I had dreams and I finished everything. I wanted to marry you, and take care of you. I will die either at their hands or from depression. I expected to help you, but you ruined everything.”
After the victim sensed the letter and thought he could be killed, he decided to help him, making two bank transfers totaling R$124,000.
Prints of letters exchanged between them:
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After making deposits, the woman went to Rio de Janeiro to spend a few days with her then-boyfriend. During this period, she reported being verbally abused by a YouTuber, who frequently called her a “common, son of a bitch and slut.”
However, the man always circumvented the situation, saying he was nervous, asking for forgiveness, and declaring that he loved his girlfriend. She ended up accepting his apology, but he became aggressive again.
After returning to Brasilia, Camila* noticed that the YouTuber started acting strangely, claiming that he no longer wanted a long-distance relationship with her. According to the victim, Fernando said whenever he could that he had financial problems so she would give him more money.
The woman begins to distrust her partner after collecting the borrowed amounts. I noticed that YouTubers always avoid this, saying that their accounts were banned due to legal issues. At some point, Fernando insinuated that his girlfriend gave him money, which the victim denies.
More than once, when the victim asked about the amount he owed, the YouTuber insulted her by saying that she was “disgusting” and “trivial.”
A few weeks later, Fernando sent letters to Camila* acknowledging his debts. Meanwhile, he was in Brasilia for work, but made excuses not to meet his partner, even though she was the one who paid for the plane ticket.
The victim then decided to break off the toxic relationship she had with the YouTuber. The man said more than once that he would pay her, but he always made some excuse.
About four months after their relationship ended, in April 2023, Fernando searched for her again. In an attempt to trick her and gain an advantage, the ex-partner sent her a document, saying it was a debt payment agreement, which actually turned out to be a donation term. The intention was for the victim to admit that he had given the money to the man, rather than loaning the amount.
to Capitals The victim’s lawyer from Brasilia explained that the accused always seemed very affectionate and attentive, and filled the emotional voids that existed in the victim’s life, at a time when she was going through delicate situations.
“She was moved by a real expectation of building a relationship. He presented himself as a real prince charming. And in this state of trust and emotional vulnerability, she ended up lending the money,” said Nardine Souza Porto, who is responsible for Camila’s defence*.
Because she felt psychologically and financially damaged by the relationship, Camila* registered a police report against Fernando at the Women’s Police Station (Order 1) for insult and fraud in the context of domestic violence. It also requested that preventive measures be taken.
Investigations into the alleged crime by the PCDF have not yet been completed. In the civil sphere, the Federal District Court ordered the YouTuber to compensate his ex-girlfriend with more than R$100,000. However, the amount was not transferred to the victim.
The lawyer specializing in love embezzlement cases added: “There are already ongoing legal proceedings seeking to recover these amounts in full, since they were disbursed, with the appropriate cash update. At the same time, criminal proceedings are being taken aimed at convicting those accused of committing the crime of embezzlement. There is also strong evidence of the existence of many other victims.”
Fake storefront to lure women
Businessman Floriano Paganotti met Fernando in 2015, when they were working together in a government company. He created a YouTube channel to denounce his former colleague’s love scams.
The first case of love fraud that Floriano knew of was a woman, 73 years old at the time, who ended up marrying Fernando in 2019. She accumulated a loss of more than R$800,000.
“His modus operandi was always the same: pretending to be a false moralist, a pseudo-intellectual, living by belching virtues, especially on the old YouTube channel where he worked. It was in this environment that he captured most of his victims. He contacted them all privately: in WhatsApp groups with channel subscribers and in chats. The first approach began there,” explains the businessman.
According to Floriano, the fraudster took advantage of his position and appearance alongside politicians to appear influential. On Instagram, he already had more than 500 thousand followers, almost all of whom were purchased. It was another layer of charade of deception and relevant appearance.
Most of the victims are older female YouTubers, some of whom have no family or children and are emotionally fragile.
“With this ready-made façade of fake fame, fake followers, fake titles and intellectual status, he approached his victims. He wanted women looking for men with money, fame and intelligence. He simulated all of this. He knew exactly who to attack and how to set off the trap. They ended up getting emotionally involved and falling into this farce assembled piece by piece,” laments Floriano.
In the case of the 73-year-old victim, Floriano only learned of the scam Fernando had carried out on her last year when he discovered she had filed a lawsuit against the YouTuber. At the time of the wedding, he was forced to be one of the couple’s marriage witnesses.
“That day, he called me saying that I needed to be there urgently to sign as a witness at the opening of a company. But when I arrived at the place, I realized that it was not a company at all: it was a stable union. I felt forced by the presence of lawyers and other witnesses, and I ended up signing.”
Years later, the businessman discovered that his former colleague had made him a witness in the case against her, something he had never authorized.
What does the YouTuber say?
In a statement, Fernando Drummond Fernandez’s defense denied these allegations, said that he was innocent, and said that there was no evidence that the YouTuber was involved in any type of fraud. (See note below)
“Mr. Fernando Drummond’s legal position is unequivocal: he is innocent of all the charges raised. This is not a matter of seeking a ‘future innocence’, but of asserting an existing innocence, as there is no conviction, indictment, ongoing investigation or any minimal evidence to support these allegations.
Therefore, we do not allow – under any circumstances – that the image of Mr. Fernando be linked to the crime of embezzlement, especially since there are no elements that meet the requirements of art. 171 of the Penal Code.
Furthermore, it is clear that there is no evidence of fraud or “love fraud.” Mr. Fernando received free justice after a careful forensic analysis, which included a full investigation of his bank accounts, financial history and federal revenue statements. The discovery of the absence of hidden assets, suspicious movements or non-compliant resources undoubtedly reinforces the absence of any illicit practice.
In light of all of the above, we completely reject complaints submitted to you and your team. We reiterate that nothing has been proven – and nothing will be proven – because there is simply no criminal conduct attributable to Mr. Fernando Drummond, who, since the first half of 2025, has been the target of successive attacks, completely devoid of any factual or legal basis capable of justifying even an indictment.
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