In Brazil, a 37-year-old woman pretended to be 12 and was placed in foster families, where she lived at others' expense
She attributed her adult appearance to hormones and autism. And they believed her.
Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira. Photo: Polícia Civil / g1.globo.com
37-year-old Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira developed a detailed manipulation scheme that helped her successfully pretend to be a 12-year-old girl for a long time to get into families and receive financial support from charitable organizations.
According to investigative data, which the publication Folha de S.Paolo refers to, the story lasted since 2018. Amanda used fake names and fabricated stories about abuse. The con artist usually found victims by claiming she had escaped from violence, forced prostitution, or abuse by relatives.
To gain trust, as The Sun writes, the woman artificially altered her voice, used baby bottles, pacifiers, and a special blanket for sleeping. Her behavior fully imitated child psychology, including nighttime panic attacks and emotional dependence on "parents."
Photo: social networks / g1.globo.com
According to the investigation, the woman claimed to suffer from autism and other diseases. When questions arose about her adult appearance, she explained it by allegedly being forced to take hormones in childhood, which, she said, affected her physical development.
The last and longest episode occurred in Joinville, Santa Catarina state. There, Oliveira managed to persuade a married couple to take her into their home. For 14 months, the couple cared for her as their own daughter, celebrated her birthday, and even began the official adoption process.
In addition, the family paid for expensive treatment with the drug Mounjaro, as Amanda claimed to have serious health problems due to childhood abuse. At the same time, she avoided any discussion about legalizing documents and never carried identification.
The long-standing deception ended due to the vigilance of one of the relatives of the Joinville family. Suspecting something was wrong, he began searching for information online and came across reports of similar cases in other cities. The police, called by the family, quickly determined the true identity and age of the con artist.
According to investigators, Amanda used similar scenarios in at least seven cases in different regions of Brazil.
It is reported that in 2024 she was detained by police in Goiás. At that time, one of the volunteers who cared for the scammer helped expose the deception. She noticed metal needles beginning to emerge from Amanda's body. This looked like the consequences of torture and fit well with her story about her father, who allegedly practiced witchcraft and rituals.
The woman arranged for a medical examination. The doctor who conducted the examination admitted that in many years of practice he had never encountered anything similar: X-rays revealed more than 200 needles in the woman's body.
The X-ray taken at the hospital in Goiás clearly shows needles in Amanda's body. Photo: Polícia Civil / g1.globo.com
It was then that medical personnel were able to ascertain the woman's real age, and the police later published these images as proof of the scam.
Although the Goiás authorities detained Oliveira for identity fraud, she never began serving her sentence. The con artist herself later stated that an acquaintance, a military police captain, whom she contacted after the exposure, helped her avoid prison. This impunity allowed her to freely leave for another state and begin the next, longest scam in Joinville.
After her arrest, Amanda de Oliveira confessed to her actions. She is currently in a women's prison awaiting the results of a forensic psychiatric examination. The study should determine whether her actions are the result of conscious fraud or if they are caused by deep psychological problems.