A 12th Criminal Law Chamber of the São Paulo State Court of Justice upheld the conviction of a former municipal treasurer in Guaimbê/SP for embezzlement after she diverted R$98,920 from public funds. Part of the amount was used in online betting. The court rejected the defense’s claim that her gambling addiction compromised her ability to understand the illegality of her actions. However, the sentence was reduced to two years, four months, and 24 days in open prison, along with 12 days of fine and two restrictions on her rights.
Court Decision and Defense Argument
The defense argued that the former treasurer’s gambling dependency rendered her actions incomprehensible and undeterrable. They requested a declaration of inimputability or semi-imputability. The defense also sought a reduction in the sentence, a more lenient regime, and substitution of imprisonment with corrective restrictions. The court dismissed the preliminary argument for nullity due to insufficient evidence of mental incapacity at the time of the offenses.
According to the court‘s analysis, both psychiatric and psychological evaluations concluded that the former treasurer retained the capacity to understand the illicit nature of her actions and to conform her conduct accordingly. The psychiatrist testified that her depressive disorder did not directly relate to impulse control and that there was no sufficient evidence to establish a loss of understanding or determinative capacity. Similarly, the psychologist noted that the described behavior did not indicate a break with reality.
Embezzlement Details and Financial Impact
The former treasurer, who served in the municipal chamber, is accused of appropriating and diverting funds from the public entity in September 2024. To execute the crime, she made bank transfers from the chamber’s accounts to accounts under her name and her minor child’s, both under her control. Some of the funds were used for online betting. Bank statements analysis revealed irregular movements dating back to June 2024. The court found that she altered the bank statements sent to the accounting department to conceal the transfers. Additionally, programs for editing PDF files were found on her computer.
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The damage caused was the amount ordered by the original sentence, which required her to repay the funds. The court acknowledged the significant financial loss but determined that this circumstance alone did not justify increasing the base sentence as initially imposed. The first-instance sentence had imposed three years in semi-open regime, 36 days of fine, loss of public office, and full repayment of the damage.
Reduction of Sentence and Consequences
The court’s decision to reduce the sentence was based on the principle that the trust placed in the former treasurer stemmed from her role and could not be used again to aggravate the penalty. The negative value of culpability was also dismissed as irrelevant. The reduced sentence includes 12 days of fine and two restrictions on her rights, which will be substituted by community service or payment to the Guaimbê Municipal Chamber equivalent to 65.8 minimum wages.
The former treasurer testified that she initially used her own funds for online betting but later withdrew amounts from the chamber’s accounts believing she would repay them. She claimed to have returned the money in some instances but failed to do so in September when the loss occurred. She also stated that after the bets, she lacked full awareness of the amounts moved due to intense guilt. The court found these statements indicative of her knowledge of the illegality, thus reaffirming the conviction.
