Woman wheels corpse into bank to secure loan

A woman in Brazil has been taken into custody after she wheeled the corpse of an elderly man into a bank, claiming he was her uncle and that he would co-sign a loan, according to media reports, citing local police.

Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, who claimed to be the niece and caregiver of 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga, wheeled the cadaver into the bank in a Rio suburb on Tuesday and told the teller the man wanted a loan for 17,000 reais ($3,250).

She held a pen and moved his hand forward to no response, footage from the bank’s security camera shows.

“Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign,” she reportedly said, suggesting she sign for him. “Sign, so you don’t give me any more headaches, I can’t take it anymore,” the woman added, grabbing hold of the man’s neck with her hand from behind.

“I don’t think he’s well. He doesn’t look well at all,” remarked one distrustful employee, with Nunes replying “He doesn’t say anything, that’s just how he is.” 

She then addressed the deceased man: “If you’re not okay, I’m going to take you to the hospital.”

Bank staff became suspicious as the man’s head kept falling back and they called the police. who arrested the woman on the spot. Nunes has been charged with fraud. The corpse was taken to the morgue.

“She knew he was dead … he had been dead for at least two hours,” the investigating officer, Fabio Luiz Souza, told news program Bom Dia Rio on Wednesday.

“I have never come across a story like this in 22 years [as a cop],” added Souza, who said visible signs of livor mortis left no doubt as to Braga’s state.

It was later determined that Braga had been dead for several hours prior to his trip to the bank. Police said they will look into the circumstances of the man’s death and will try to determine whether Nunes is actually his niece, and whether other people were involved in the alleged attempt to commit bank fraud.