In Brazil, a 37-year-old woman pretended to be 12 and was placed in foster families, where she lived at others' expense
She explained her adult appearance by 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 enter families and receive financial support from charitable organizations.
According to investigative data, which the publication Folha de S.Paolo refers to, the story lasted from 2018. Amanda used fake names and invented stories about abuse. The con artist usually found victims by claiming she had escaped 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 completely imitated the psychology of a child, including nightly panic attacks and emotional dependence on "parents."
Photo: social media / 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 the alleged forced use of hormones in childhood, which, according to her, affected her physical development.
The latest and longest episode occurred in the city of Joinville, Santa Catarina state. There, Oliveira managed to convince a 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 process of official adoption.
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 always avoided discussions about legalizing documents and never carried an identification card.
The years-long deception ended due to the vigilance of one of the relatives of the family from Joinville. Suspecting something was wrong, he started searching for information online and stumbled upon reports of similar cases in other cities. The police, called by the family, quickly identified the true identity and age of the fraudster.
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 fraudster helped uncover the deception. She noticed metallic 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 organized 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 a 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 arrested Oliveira for identity fraud, she never began serving the assigned sentence. The fraudster 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 move to another state and begin the next, longest scam in Joinville.
After her arrest, Amanda de Oliveira confessed to her actions. At this moment, she is 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 are due to deep psychological problems.
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