Brazilian "Bishops" Arrested in Miami

Filed in archive Latin News on January 10, 2007

Estevam Hernandes Filho and Sônia Haddad Moraes Hernandes, Brazilian citizens, founders of the Renascer em Cristo (Reborn in Christ) Apostolic Church, where arrested by the FBI in Miami last night. The couple arrived from São Paulo, where a block of their assets was imposed by a court order.

The "bishops" (that's how they call themselves) were arrested because they Lied about how much cash they brought. They declared only U$S 10.000 (which is the legal limit), when in fact they had U$S 56.000.

The couple is being accused of tax evasion and money laundering. The church has been qualified as a criminal organization set up for misappropriated money laundry. Estevam e Sônia Hernandes are on FBI's "Blue Alert", a list of people responding processes of interest for the USA, who have legal residence in the country.

They're probably going to be released on bail. The "church" is still "working". Why does people fall in this scams, perpetrated by such scumbags?

Source (in Portuguese): Globo.com