The couple Renato and Aline Openkoski, known and investigated for promoting the 'AME Jonatas' campaign, were arrested last Wednesday (22) in the Santa Catarina municipality of Joinville. They were on the run and were arrested by the Police Department for the Protection of Children, Adolescents, Women and the Elderly (DPCami).
The couple's son, Jonatas, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare degenerative disease that led the parents to create a campaign to raise funds for the treatment of the child, who ended up passing away in 2021.
Renato and Aline are accused of embezzling around R$3 million in donations, in addition to using the money to buy a R$140,000 car and spending it on luxuries. The couple will be responsible for the crimes of embezzlement and appropriation of assets, whose combined sentences reach 70 years in prison.
Leading the couple's defense, lawyer Emanoel Stopassola states that “due legal process will be defended with broad defense territory and all means of proof and inherent resources.”
Case chronology
Born in 2016, little Jonatas Openkoski was diagnosed in 2017 with SMA, spinal muscular atrophy. In the same year, the child's parents, Renato and Aline Openkoski, created the campaign called 'AME Jonatas' to pay for the boy's treatment. The campaign was a success and several celebrities promoted the family's cause.
In January 2018, DPCAMI in Joinville began investigating the campaign on suspicion of misappropriation at the request of the Public Ministry of Santa Catarina (MPSC), which received information that the child's parents were using the money raised to pay for luxuries. At the time, the family denied any wrongdoing.
Two months later, in March of the same year, the Court blocked the amounts raised through the campaign, and the Civil Police executed a search and seizure warrant at the couple's home. Around R$3 million, a vehicle worth R$140,000 that was in the name of Renato and Aline and several products and clothes from famous brands were seized and more than 20 people were interviewed.
Even during the investigations, Jonatas' father, Renato Openkoski, was a candidate for state deputy for the PDT using the name 'Renato Pai do AME Jonatas' to try to get elected. According to the Superior Electoral Court, more than R$24,000 was allocated to the campaign, which ended with less than 200 votes.
The court's conviction came in 2022, after the child's death. The couple fled Balneário Camboriú, where they lived, and were located in Morro do Meio, a neighborhood of Joinville, after intelligence work, investigation and campaigns promoted by DPCAMI. Both were sent to the Santa Catarina prison system.
Source: CNN Brasil
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