A judge has stopped a medical student’s state-sponsored university grant after a social media audit showed that, contrary to her claims of an impoverished life, she was, in fact, well-heeled enough to holiday in exotic locations.
The discovery comes after the student, Gabriella Andrade Viegas de Arruda, sued the Evangelical University of Goiás and the city of Anápolis in Brazil when payments on her behalf ceased and she was unable to register for classes.
Her legal efforts appeared fruitful—until a judge spotted her mother’s name on the court documents and realized she was a lawyer under the state’s employ.
The student’s mother was a public servant moonlighting as a lawyer, earning eight times more than the minimum wage
A significant prerequisite for people applying for the GraduAção university scholarship awarded to Gabriella, is that applicants’ households generate no more than three minimum salaries, which in Brazil amounts to around $275 each.
According to a local news outlet, Metropoles, Gabriella’s mother, Priscilla, receives a monthly payment of $800 for serving the state of Goiás, and an additional $1,520 from moonlighting as a lawyer.
A local judge, Gabriel Lisboa, observed that the woman’s income far exceeded the three minimum wages declared in Gabriella’s grant application.
When the bursary stopped, the student sued and won
Additionally, Gabriella’s father, Tiago, had been a partner in a real estate company and was employed by a state agency in charge of a social insurance project.
The third alleged minimum wage came from the student’s paternal grandfather, who was a major shareholder in a construction supply firm.
Despite her family’s economic activities, Gabriella saw fit to sue the city of Anápolis and the University she was attending when they stopped paying for her tuition earlier this year.
The state’s initial attempt to shut the program down was based on irregularities
Andrade was one of 18 of the grant’s beneficiaries to take the matter further five months after the program serving 108 students had been suspended.
A local publication, DM Annapolis has since reported that a local mayor Márcio Corrêa had called for “the definitive closure of the program,” after dubbing it an “irresponsible legacy” of his predecessors.
“These students are children of wealthy people, business owners, and farmers who benefit from the city’s grants,” he told his charges from a video circulating on social media.
He further noted that “irregular” and fraudulent cases would have their day in court.
“A commission will also be created to further investigate the matter,” the Brazilian outlet reported.
In her application, Gabriella claimed she lived with her two impoverished grandparents
@gabiandradev #CapCut perdido na galeria! #travel #travellife ♬ som original – gabiandradev
She would actually emerge from the lawsuit victorious and her bursary was reinstated after a court issued an injunction.
Lisboa, however, would realize who Priscilla, Gabriella’s mother was, when he spotted her name on her daughter’s court filings.
Digging deeper, he discovered that Gabriella’s home address was the same as the business owned by her mother which clashed with the students’ documented claims that she lived with poor grandparents.
Her maternal grandfather’s business interests are registered under the same address.
The probe had the judge looking into the students social media accounts where he found anything but poverty
The investigation went even further and took on the form of a social media audit.
Officials found evidence of a trip to Italy in 2023 and another to Brazil’s capital, Rio de Janeiro in the same year, along with well documented parties on superyachts and music festivals.
The Metropoles reported on Lisboa’s reaction, writing:
“The judge found that the young woman boasts international travel, a fitness lifestyle, and is a fan of running, facts that, according to him, do not correspond to the poverty declared by the student.”
The judge’s findings could mean the end of the bursary program
A council has since been formed to deliberate on what action to take and one of the options being considered, according to the Brazilian outlet, is to hand the family over to the country’s revenue services.
The Andrades’ actions have since also made GraduAção administrators rethink the student grant program.
“Since the municipality lacked a database to certify that the recipients met the criteria, only after the committee’s work is completed will it be possible to determine the program’s future course,” a statement to the Brazilian outlet confirmed.
Local public prosecutors say they will prosecute any false statements made to attain the grant
“Public Prosecutor Alberto Cachuba, acting as deputy in the 11th Public Prosecutor’s Office of Anápolis, [acknowledged] that he has already been informed,” the local BNnews reported.
It noted that the legal arm of the local government planned to “initiate an administrative procedure to investigate whether there was any irregularity in the fulfillment of the requirements for entry into the program by the aforementioned student.”
“If the irregularity is proven, the appropriate legal measures will be taken in relation to her and/or other students who, by chance, have enrolled in the program without fulfilling the necessary requirements,” the outlet quoted.
The public feels that the student robbed a place from someone who really needed it
Members of the public have since responded to the development en masse and shown no sympathy for the student and her family’s embarrassment.
“I really like seeing this kind of news,” wrote one person, reveling in the situation.
Another, observing a social dilemma, wrote: “Have you noticed that the rich always criticize welfare programs for the poor, but they’re always cheating to benefit themselves?”
“Well done… My son lost a place because of people like that,” a commenter echoed dejectedly.
The internet sees her documenting her life on social media as her downfall
