Maurizzio Cersósimo Mattos arrested trying to sell someone else's island

GlobalPost

SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Maurizzio Cersósimo Mattos, 49, former manager of Brazilian singer Ricardo Chaves and ex-regional vice president of Citybank, was arrested on Friday for falsifying documents, fraud, using false documents and conspiracy, according to Globo TV's news site G1. His wife, Claudia Mattos, and their secretary, Claudia Pedrosa, were also arrested in the couple's luxury condominium on the northern coast of Bahia state.

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According to police chief Carine Amanda Neves de Souza, Mattos was already convicted by the Court of Bahia in a lawsuit filed by Chaves, his former boss, reported Brazilian news site Terra. The lawsuit is currently being appealed by Mattos. Neves de Souza also said Friday's arrests were motivated by crimes committed against other people.

Mattos and his wife owned several companies they put in other people's names, according to Brazilian newspaper Correio 24 Horas. They used their businesses to set up real estate and entertainment business scams.

"They forged several documents transferring ownership of luxury real estate, then they tried to put it on the market," police officer Pile Dantas said to Correio 24 Horas. "Among the properties they tried to sell was an island in Baía de Todos Santos [All Saints Bay]."

When Chaves heard about his former manager's arrest, he took to his Twitter account to share his thoughts, reported G1. "I just found out the person who hurt me most in life was just ARRESTED! I think this is the end of the nightmare I've been living since 2004!" he wrote. "The arrests don't erase what I went through, but certainly are very comforting. I fought for many years against this delinquent couple that is now in the proper place: Maurizzio Mattos and Claudia Mattos."

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