World of the Bizarre

Woman takes her dead uncle to the bank, then tries to take out a loan

By T.K. Randall
April 18, 2024

Image: US Currency
Credit: Splintercell10 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (adapted) The peculiar incident, which took place in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, saw Erika de Souza Vieira arrive at a bank branch while pushing an elderly (and seemingly quite unwell) man in a wheelchair.

Almost immediately, staff at the bank realized that something wasn't quite right.

"I don't think he's well. He doesn't look well at all," one employee said.

"That's just what he's like," Vieira replied.

It turned out that the man was in fact her uncle and she had taken him along to the bank to sign off on a loan worth around $3,250.

This was easier said than done, however, as he was unable to hold the pen properly to sign his name.Even more problematic still was the unavoidable fact that he was dead.

It wasn't long before Vieira had been arrested and charged with both violating a corpse and fraud.

"She knew he was dead... he had been dead for at least two hours," said investigating officer Fabio Luiz Souza. "I have never come across a story like this in 22 years [as a cop]."

Vieira's lawyer, meanwhile, has disputed the police's take on the case by insisting that the uncle had in fact been very much alive at the time he had been wheeled into the bank.

As things stand, the case remains under investigation.

It is not even clear whether or not Vieira really is the deceased man's niece.

Source: The Guardian

Tags: Money