VZCZCXRO7428
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0642 3381259
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031259Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8750
INFO RHEFHLC/DHS WASHDC
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9904
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8933
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4248
RUEHPNH/NVC PORTSMOUTH 0064

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 000642 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/FPP, INL/HSTC, WHA/BSC, DS/CR/OCI 
DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED-PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KFRD CVIS ASEC BR
SUBJECT: FRAUDULENT DOCUMENT RING SHUT DOWN WITH LIGHTNING SPEED 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  On November 13, 2008, a joint Fraud Prevention 
Unit (FPU)/Assistant Regional Security Officer Investigator (ARSO-I) 
investigation resulted in the arrest of four members of a fraudulent 
document ring in Sorocaba, Brazil (Note: Sorocaba is a city of 
557,500 located 80 miles to the east of Sao Paulo.  End Note.) 
Police have filed charges against the four for fraud, falsification 
of public and private documents, formation of an organized crime 
group, and selling packages of fake supporting documents in 
furtherance of fraudulently obtaining non-immigrant U.S. visas.  If 
convicted on all charges, they could each face up to five years in 
prison.  The leader of the group is in the United States and will 
face charges if/when he returns to Brazil.  A/RSO-I is coordinating 
with liaison in the United States to arrange his return.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On October 9, 2008, a consular section officer at the Sao 
Paulo Consulate General requested FPU assistance in examining the 
supporting documents of an applicant and his wife.  FPU confirmed 
the documents were fraudulent and that the claimed employer was 
fictitious.  FPU then ran Consular Consolidated Database Text 
Searches on the information from the two applications, discovering 
16 approved and 22 refused associated cases.  (Note: Sao Paulo's 
overall refusal rate is five percent.  The refusal of nearly 60 
percent of these applicants indicates the overall quality of the 
documents and/or the fabricated story was poor.  End note.)  Using 
the Department of Homeland Security's Arrival-Departure Information 
System (ADIS) it was determined that all but one of the 16 issued 
had already traveled to the United States. 
 
¶3. (SBU) FPU then phoned the one applicant in possession of a valid 
visa who remained in Brazil.  During the conversation, the applicant 
confessed to having purchased the supporting documents she had 
presented at her interview - tax documents, pay stubs, bank 
documents, and fake certification of employment in the 
government-issued Work Booklet - for approximately USD 750 and 
identified the vendor.  The applicant subsequently went to the 
Brazilian police in Sorocaba and provided a statement.  The case was 
then passed to the A/RSO-I for further action. 
 
¶4. (SBU) A/RSO-I meetings with the Civil Police Chief in Sorocaba 
led to the case being accepted by Sao Paulo State Prosecutors from 
the Organized Crime Group (GAECO).  GAECO obtained judicial 
authorization for wiretaps which provided sufficient information for 
the police to issue arrest warrants for the travel agency owner and 
his associates, as well as authorization to search the 
Sorocaba-based Universal and Ello travel agencies and a complicit 
accountant's office.  On November 13, Civil Police in Sorocaba 
simultaneously executed the warrants, searching the offices, seizing 
computers and other evidence, and arresting four individuals. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The four individuals arrested are: 
 
ACIRA APARECIDA DE SOUZA, Package vendor 
EDSON LUIZ DE LIMA NUNES, Document producer 
ALESSANDRA ARRUDA, ELLO owner 
ANDREA GONZAGA DOS SANTOS, Document producer 
 
The individual identified as leading the group, Sandro Alex de 
Oliveira, is currently in the United States, having arrived August 
18, 2008 on a B-2 tourist visa.  A/RSO-I will work with the 
appropriate U.S. authorities to locate De Oliveira in the United 
States and return him to Brazil, at which time  Brazilian police 
intend to arrest him. 
 
¶6. (SBU) A review of the applications and issuance and refusal notes 
established a general profile for the scheme.  The majority of 
applicants were 25-40 years of age and presented themselves as newly 
or about-to-be-married, intending to honeymoon in Orlando.  The male 
often claimed to be an owner/manager of a car dealership and the 
female claimed to be an owner/salesperson in a clothing/jewelry 
store.  They had no prior travel and little beyond a high school 
education. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The speed with which this case moved (only a 
little over a month from discovery to conclusion) is an indication 
of the strong cooperative relations between the Consulate General 
and local authorities.  FPU and A/RSO-I will continue to investigate 
the scope of the group's operations as the Brazilian police pass on 
further client lists seized in the operation.  FPU will provide 
lessons-learned training to adjudicating officers in order to help 
them better identify potential fraud of this nature.  End Comment. 
 
 
WHITE