Broker is accused of scamming rental contracts in Barra de Tijuca A real estate agent is being investigated for accusations of carrying out a series of scams in rental contracts in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Owners and tenants claim to have been deceived by André Luiz Ferreira, responsible for managing the properties. The contract lasted almost 30 months until taxi driver Marcelo Ornellas de Andrade and his wife, owners of an apartment in Barra da Tijuca, discovered irregularities in the administration of the rental. According to them, André Luiz Ferreira intermediated the rent and was also responsible for the financial management of the contract. Marcelo says that the first signs appeared when extra condominium charges appeared. He claims he decided to take on the costs so as not to pass them on to the tenants, but later discovered that the tenants had also paid the same fees. 📱Download the g1 app to see news from RJ in real time and for free The biggest loss, however, would have been caused by the rental guarantee. According to the victims, the contract provided for a capitalization bond of R$66,000. When the contract ended, the renters, a Russian couple, discovered that the investment linked to the guarantee was only R$16,000. The victims also claim that the amount was redeemed by the broker without authorization. "He presented us with a certificate worth 66 thousand, with letterhead, signed letter... basically that document contained a value of 66 thousand. It was a false document, because the application was only for 16 thousand reais", says Marcelo. In addition to the guarantee amount, the owner says that the broker also failed to transfer the last rent received from tenants. Russian Olga Vladimirovna Khabarkova claims that the money invested in the guarantee was paid shortly after the family's arrival in Brazil. She also says that the financial loss compromised her daughter's health treatment. “We are very sad, because I need this money for my daughter’s treatment”, he says. The victims are represented by the same lawyer, Kátia Mello. According to her, André Luiz Ferreira has more than 15 lawsuits in different states related to cases of embezzlement. Other customers also report being harmed. Doctor Luiz Sousa states that he rented an apartment managed by the broker and only discovered the problem when the property owner got in touch informing that she had not received rent or condo fees for three months, despite payments being made regularly. After contacting the insurance company, Luiz claims to have discovered that there was no capitalization bond or policy linked to the contract. "Then I called the insurance company and there really was nothing in my son's name, nothing on that registration number, there was no policy. And then I was sure, right?", he says. According to the victims, the loss in this case is almost R$38,000. 🟩g1 Rio is on GloboPop, Globo's new vertical short video app, available for free on your cell phone. On the app, you can follow the g1 Rio stage so you don't miss any episode. Download GloboPop. Delegate Alan Luxardo states that there are at least 17 records of incidents related to the broker in the state of Rio de Janeiro. According to the investigation, the cases show the same pattern of action. “This voluminous history of crimes of the same nature carried out in the same way, means and manner, demonstrates that he is a repeated fraudster”, he stated. The delegate warns of the importance of checking information and documents before closing deals. "We always have to be suspicious, check information. In this specific case there is a problem that his Creci was still active." The victims also question the actions of the Regional Council of Real Estate Brokers (Creci-RJ). Marcelo states that he consulted André Luiz's professional registration before closing the deal and found active registration, which conveyed security. “To our surprise, it was found that he has several complaints and the regional council of real estate agents maintains this element with his active registration and registration”, he states. In a note, Creci-RJ informed that there is only one administrative proceeding against the broker in progress at the federal level. The council states that, until there is a final decision on the process, it cannot remove him from professional activity. The president of Creci-RJ, João Eduardo Leal Corrêa, informed that a conciliation hearing was scheduled for June 25th. If there is no agreement, the council will continue to investigate the facts. The report attempted to locate André Luiz Ferreira at two addresses mentioned in the investigation, but he was not found. There was also no return to telephone contacts made. While awaiting the progress of the investigations, Olga and her family are preparing to leave Brazil without knowing whether they will be able to recover the lost money. “I hope that justice is done so that other foreign and Brazilian people do not go through the same situation,” he said.