RS police conduct operation against civil servant who forged journalism diploma

The Rio Grande do Sul civil police launched Operation Falso Grau, this Tuesday (16), in Porto Alegre and Canoas, in the metropolitan region. The agents are executing search and seizure warrants, in addition to bank freezes against a public servant, who falsified a higher education diploma in Journalism to obtain financial advantages.

According to the police, the server joined the Institute of Social Security and Assistance for Municipal Servers of Canoas (CANOASPREV), in 2013. At the time, he presented a false diploma using the name of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).

The fraud was allegedly committed to obtain a salary bonus, which could only have been paid to those with a higher education degree.

The man had been in the police’s sights, according to police chief Max Otto Ritter, since the beginning of the year. He had presented the same false document at the Canoas City Council in early 2024.

Reporting and seizures

The case is being investigated by the 1st Anti-Corruption Division (1st DECOR), of the State Division for Combating Corruption and Money Laundering (DCCOR). The agents are investigating the crimes of embezzlement, ideological falsehood and use of false documents. The investigations began in March 2024.

According to the false document presented, it guaranteed the server an extra income of R$3,000 per month. The financial loss to CANOASPREV is estimated at around R$400,000, relating to the last 11 years.

Operation Falso Grau aimed to execute three search and seizure warrants, through fifteen agents involved in the action. Two vehicles were hijacked by the agents, according to Cassiano Cabra, director of the DEIC’s anti-corruption and money laundering division.