JOINVILLE, Brazil — A Brazilian court has convicted a 37-year-old woman of fraud after prosecutors said she spent 14 months posing as an abused 12-year-old girl to be taken in by a family in southern Brazil, a case that authorities say was part of a pattern of similar deceptions dating back more than a decade.

Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was convicted Thursday of fraud and using a false identity by the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina. She was sentenced to roughly one year, six months and 10 days in prison, followed by an additional period of detention under a semi-open regime, according to a release from the court cited by Fox News.

According to court records, Oliveira approached an organization that assists vulnerable children in 2023, presenting herself as a 12-year-old named Gabriele who had fled an abusive household and was suffering from health problems. She was ultimately placed with a couple in Joinville, who took her in and treated her as their daughter for the following 14 months, according to the court, paying for her housing, food, medication and other needs.

Investigators said Oliveira maintained the deception using a high-pitched, childlike voice, along with props........

© International Business Times