Mendonça swaps preventive imprisonment of INSS businessman for home detention
The STF minister André Mendonça determined on Thursday (5) the substitution of the preventive imprisonment of businessman Maurício Camisotti for home detention. Camisotti is under investigation in Operation Sem Desconto, which probes billion-dollar frauds at INSS. The decision followed a request from the defense, which argued that the imprisonment period was excessive.
Minister André Mendonça of Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) on Thursday ordered that the preventive detention of businessman Mauricio Camisotti, investigated in the INSS frauds alongside the "Careca do INSS", be replaced by house arrest. The decision has been taken at the request of the defense and is under secrecy. Camisotti is due to leave prison on Friday (6) and comply with the measure in São Paulo.
The Federal Police (PF) arrested Camisotti and Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as the "Careca do INSS", in September 2025. The investigation pointed to a broad scheme of frauds and embezzlement of pensions and pensions of the INSS. Antunes is the lobbyist pointed out by the PF as "facilitator" of the case.
Scheme of undue discounts
Camisotti is pointed out as one of the leaders of the scheme of undue discounts of the INSS in Operation No Discount. He is also investigated as a hidden partner of an entity and beneficiary of the frauds in the Social Security. The businessman even negotiated an award-winning plea agreement, but the Attorney General’s Office has called for adjustments.
The PF states that associations and entities that offer services to retirees registered people without authorization, with false signatures, to deduct monthly payments from the benefits paid by the INSS. The associations registered, without authorization, retirees and pensioners of the INSS and began to discount monthly payments directly on the payroll. In many cases, the elderly did not even know they were being “associated.”
Billionaire loss and dismissal
The loss, between the years of 2019 and 2024, can reach R$ 6.3 billion. In April, when the fraud came to light, the then president of the INSS, Alessandro Stefanutto, was fired. There are records of retirees who, on the same day, were affiliated with more than one entity — with identical typos on the tokens pointing to fraud.
According to the PF, INSS managers and servants received undue advantages to facilitate the insertion of discounts on the cheques of retirees, while facade associations made the diversion possible. The investigation began in 2023 at the CGU, in the administrative field. In 2024, after the CGU found evidence of crimes, the Federal Police was activated.
Judicial decision and defence
Minister André Mendonça understood that there was an excess of time in prison and that the elements that justified the preventive did not remain. The defense of the businessman said that Mauricio Camisotti "never hindered the progress of the investigations". The decision, which is under secrecy, was made after review of the defense’s request.
With the replacement, Camisotti will have to serve house arrest in São Paulo. The measure imposes restrictions, but it allows the investigator to wait for the process to unfold outside the prison system. The case is still ongoing in court.
Context of Operation Without Discount
Operation No Discount has revealed a sophisticated scheme of illegal capture of retirees and pensioners. The entities involved used data from beneficiaries to enroll them in associations without consent, generating monthly discounts on benefits. Many elderly people only perceived fraud by noticing lower values on their checks.
The actions of the PF and the CGU exposed the fragility of the INSS control systems and the connivance of servers. The dismissal of the then INSS president, Alessandro Stefanutto, in April signalled the seriousness of the case. The investigations continue to identify all those involved and recover the deviated values.
For retirees and pensioners, the recommendation is to regularly check payment statements and report unknown discounts to the official channels of the INSS. The Boca no Trombone portal follows the developments of Operation No Discount and will bring new information as soon as available.
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