Court Upholds Conviction of Former Rinópolis Official for Electronic Timecard Fraud

A court has upheld the conviction of a former public servant from the Rinópolis Municipal Chamber in São Paulo state for ideological falsehood, stemming from a six-month scheme to defraud the legislative body's electronic timekeeping system. The 14th Criminal Law Chamber of the São Paulo State Court of Justice (TJ-SP) confirmed the sentence, which includes one year, 11 months, and 10 days of imprisonment in an open regime, along with a fine. The prison sentence was commuted to community service and a financial penalty, with the court only reducing the number of daily fines. The former employee's defense team announced plans to appeal the decision to higher courts in Brasília. The fraud occurred between April and October 2022, when the individual, serving as Director of Expediente, allegedly left their access card with a subordinate responsible for attendance control. This allowed the subordinate to register the official's presence in the electronic system, falsely indicating they were at the premises when they were elsewhere. This practice reportedly continued until the official's retirement. An investigation was initiated after the Chamber's administrative coordinator noticed discrepancies between electronic records and security camera footage, revealing instances where the official was marked present despite not being in the building. The subordinate reportedly complied with the requests due to fear of retaliation, citing past instances where benefits were cut when she did not comply. The court found that the employee's confession was corroborated by technical reports, testimonies, and other evidence, noting that the false records led to the inclusion of overtime hours inconsistent with actual work performed. The defense argued that external duties justified the practice, claiming it was known to the Chamber's presidents and done in good faith, as the work continued outside the legislative office. The court rejected this, stating that external activities did not authorize manipulation of the timekeeping system, which is a public document meant to record actual presence. The judges emphasized that leaving the access card with a subordinate to falsify records demonstrated a deliberate plan to conceal absence, constituting ideological falsehood, with an aggravated penalty due to the perpetrator being a public official abusing their position.