A Brazilian man, formerly a member of the Brazilian state military police, was indicted by federal prosecutors in Boston for visa fraud and perjury.
Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, a Malden resident, allegedly entered the United States with a visa obtained under pretence and lied on his asylum application after being involved in a notorious killing spree in Brazil known as The Slaughter of Curió, VisaGuide.World reports.
The accusation from the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts states that De Abreu never disclosed his role in the massacre of 11 people, primarily teenagers, that occurred in retaliation for the murder of a police colleague in Brazil.
In total, 11 people, mostly teenagers, were murdered, and many others were seriously injured and tortured. This incident has come to be known as A Chacina do Curió, the Slaughter of Curió, or the Curió Massacre. A total of 45 individuals, including De Abreu, were charged by Brazilian authorities and on Aug. 31, 2016, De Abreu was arrested and detained by Brazilian police.
Brazilian Man Used US Visa for a Year After Lying That He Had Never Been Arrested
According to the US Department of Homeland Security, De Abreu was initially released pending trial in May 2017. Two weeks later, he applied for a US non-immigrant B2 visitor visa in Recife, Brazil.
During the application process, he lied about never being arrested or convicted for any offence or crime. Prosecutors said he was approved for a visa in June 2017 and used it to travel to Miami in May 2018.
Visa Approval of De Abreu Resulted in Obtaining Various State Driver’s Licenses
The same obtained state driver’s licenses, a social security card, travel documents, and employment authorizations over the next five years.
In January 2020, De Abreu applied for asylum. He allegedly lied when asked if he had ever been accused, charged, arrested, detained, interrogated, or imprisoned in any country other than the US.
In June 2023, he was convicted of 11 counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and four counts of physical and mental torture in the First Court of Fortaleza, Ceará. Brazilian authorities issued an arrest warrant.
While testifying under oath at an immigration hearing in February 2024, De Abreu falsely claimed that he had never lied to immigration officials, saying that he left the information off of immigration documents because he had not yet been arrested, according to prosecutors.
The charge of using visas, permits, and other documents provides a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The perjury charge provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
The allegations bode significant for De Abreu, who was convicted by Brazilian authorities in June 2023 of murder, attempted murder, and torture, receiving a sentence of 275 years in Brazilian prison.