A Family Threw Her a 12th Birthday Party but She Was in Her 30s
For 14 months, a family in Brazil believed they were caring for a child named Gabriele. She claimed she had escaped an abusive home and said forced hormone treatments explained why she looked older. They gave her a bedr…Show less
For 14 months, a family in Brazil believed they were caring for a child named Gabriele. She claimed she had escaped an abusive home and said forced hormone treatments explained why she looked older. They gave her a bedroom filled with toys, bought her clothes, celebrated her supposed 12th birthday and even considered adopting her. But Gabriele was actually Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, a woman in her late 30s.
A relative became suspicious and searched online, finding an older news report about a woman pretending to be a child. The photograph was Amanda. The family contacted police, and officers arrested her in June 2026, shortly before her 38th birthday. This wasn’t the first time she had been accused of using a child’s identity. Earlier reports involved different names, children’s shelters and claims of escaping abuse. In a separate case, members of an online prayer group alleged that she had posed as a teenager with leukemia, even claiming doctors had amputated one of her arms.
Amanda admitted lying about her name and age but denied that she intended to commit fraud. She said she wanted the care and affection she felt she had missed growing up. Prosecutors argued that the family had paid for housing, food, clothing and medication because they believed her story. On August 20, 2026, Amanda was convicted of fraud and using a false identity in the Joinville family case. She was sentenced to one year, ten months and 28 days. The separate allegations involving the prayer group were not part of that conviction.
#TrueCrimeRecaps #AmandaMariaSouzaDeOliveira #FalseIdentity #Fraud
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNbo_wIXXSbeJC5VoauEeVg/join
SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE SHOW!
𝐓𝐚𝐩 ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/truecrimerecaps?sub_confirmation=1 FOR ALL THE CRIME IN HALF THE TIME! 🎥 Hit 🔔 for a heads up when it's time to weigh in on a new True Crime Recaps episode with Amy and Chris.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: https://bit.ly/TrueCrimeRecapsPodcast
(Or anywhere you get your podcasts!) Chris and Amy team up to bring you TWICE the crime in half the time. Don't miss it.
GET SOCIAL!
Instagram: http://instagram.com/truecrimerecaps
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrueCrimeRecapsVideos
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrueCrimeRecaps
The whole deal: https://truecrimerecaps.com
A relative became suspicious and searched online, finding an older news report about a woman pretending to be a child. The photograph was Amanda. The family contacted police, and officers arrested her in June 2026, shortly before her 38th birthday. This wasn’t the first time she had been accused of using a child’s identity. Earlier reports involved different names, children’s shelters and claims of escaping abuse. In a separate case, members of an online prayer group alleged that she had posed as a teenager with leukemia, even claiming doctors had amputated one of her arms.
Amanda admitted lying about her name and age but denied that she intended to commit fraud. She said she wanted the care and affection she felt she had missed growing up. Prosecutors argued that the family had paid for housing, food, clothing and medication because they believed her story. On August 20, 2026, Amanda was convicted of fraud and using a false identity in the Joinville family case. She was sentenced to one year, ten months and 28 days. The separate allegations involving the prayer group were not part of that conviction.
#TrueCrimeRecaps #AmandaMariaSouzaDeOliveira #FalseIdentity #Fraud
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNbo_wIXXSbeJC5VoauEeVg/join
SUBSCRIBE TO THE YOUTUBE SHOW!
𝐓𝐚𝐩 ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/truecrimerecaps?sub_confirmation=1 FOR ALL THE CRIME IN HALF THE TIME! 🎥 Hit 🔔 for a heads up when it's time to weigh in on a new True Crime Recaps episode with Amy and Chris.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: https://bit.ly/TrueCrimeRecapsPodcast
(Or anywhere you get your podcasts!) Chris and Amy team up to bring you TWICE the crime in half the time. Don't miss it.
GET SOCIAL!
Instagram: http://instagram.com/truecrimerecaps
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrueCrimeRecapsVideos
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrueCrimeRecaps
The whole deal: https://truecrimerecaps.com
Played using YouTube's official embed. Watch on YouTube ↗
Community Comments
0Crimefien member discussion. These are not YouTube comments. Be respectful of victims and their families.
Sign in or create a free account to join the discussion.
No comments yet. Be the first to discuss this video.