A woman who pretended to be one of the leaders of the Women’s Liberal Party (PL) in Águas Claras is accused of scamming people who believed they had bought plane tickets to Lisbon, Portugal, to attend a party conference. At least 10 people, including pastors, civil servants and businessmen, reported losses of between R$5,000 and R$10,000. The case is being investigated by the Civil Police of the Federal District.
The suspect, Ivana Nazaré Freitas de Oliveira, 59, presented herself as an influential figure in PL Mulher and gained the trust of businessmen, lawyers and religious leaders. She even took part in party events, where she took photos alongside well-known politicians from the party, such as federal deputy Bia Kicis.
The opportunity to run the scam arose after Ivana gained the trust of party members over two years. She convinced her victims to buy fictitious tickets to Portugal. Some individuals received counterfeit tickets and went to the airport hoping to board, while others realized the scam when trying to get their money back and were blocked on WhatsApp by the suspect.
Checking Ivana’s party affiliation on the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) system revealed that she is not affiliated with any political party, indicating that she was improperly using the PL’s name to commit the crimes. Attempts to contact the suspect were unsuccessful.
In August 2019, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) obtained Ivana’s conviction for embezzlement, related to the misappropriation of funds from the Regional Superintendence of Labor and Employment in Rio Grande do Norte (SRTE/RN) between 2006 and 2008. Ivana, then an advisor to the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Labor, was identified as one of the “mentors” of the scheme, which directed funds to her boyfriend’s company, which benefited from the embezzlement. The Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) ordered the cancellation of the contract after finding irregularities.
