In a criminal action proposed by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in Santa Catarina, the Federal Court in Chapecó sentenced defendant Ricardo Dalcanale Bornhausen to a sentence of three years and six months of imprisonment, in an initial semi-open regime, as well as a fine of 50. days-fine, in the unit value of a minimum wage in force at the time of the facts, for the practice of the crime of embezzlement, provided for in Article 312 of the Penal Code. The sentence also sets the minimum amount for repairing the damages caused at R $ 3,214,202.84, plus monetary restatement and late payment interest, which must be shared jointly with the defendants convicted of embezzlement in the records of the related criminal action (case no. 5009285-12.2017.4.04.7202).

The defendants previously convicted, in November 2019, for the same crime, involving fraud and corruption in the construction of cisterns in the West region of Santa Catarina, are Olivia Barreto Bornhausen and André Barreto Bornhausen, sons of Ricardo Bornhausen, and also Roberto Franchini, Ivalmor Piaia , Melimar Marquesi and Rodrigo Mello da Rosa.

Judgment by Judge Priscilla Mielke Wickert Piva, of the 1st Federal Court of Chapecó, issued on January 12, granted defendant Ricardo Bornhausen the right to appeal in freedom, under the terms of article 387, sole paragraph, of the Criminal Procedure Code .

R $ 12 million agreement – The crimes committed by the convicted defendants, ascertained in a civil investigation in 2012, involve the State Secretariat for Social Assistance, Labor and Housing, which signed an agreement with the Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS) , in the scope of the Water for All Program, of more than R $ 12 million for the “ construction of fenced cisterns, and training of the benefited population with the objective of enabling access to water resources for consumption by the rural population of the West and West Santa Catarina that suffers the effects of drought “. For the construction of the cisterns, the Cooperative of Professionals in Public and Private Services of Santa Catarina (Coopesc) was contracted, due to the lack of bidding.

Subsequently, the Directorate of Audit-General of the State Secretariat of Finance revealed several irregularities in the project, among them the inadequacy of this model for building cisterns; the illegality of hiring Coopesc due to the lack of bidding; waste of materials; the lack of technical capacity of the cooperative contracted to carry out the works; earthmoving and material transportation services, which were the obligation of the cooperative, were carried out by the prefectures of the municipalities served; and the use of invoices from paralyzed companies to justify receiving amounts.

According to the Audit-General, of the 437 cisterns analyzed, only one had been completed and was in operation, storing water. After the audit, the execution of the agreement was suspended. However, even with all the irregularities pointed out, approximately R $ 3.2 million was paid to Coopesc. MPF investigations, with the support of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Santa Catarina, revealed that the cooperative did not even use members in the construction of cisterns, outsourcing the execution of the works to a contractor who, at the request of the cooperative, issued invoices from companies already long paralyzed.

The breach of bank secrecy of those involved also demonstrated that a significant portion of the funds was destined to the directors of Coopesc, their families and the company managed by one of the directors. It was also found that more than R $ 200 thousand were allocated to the partners of the company DMAS Participações, which belongs to the family of Ricardo Bornhausen.

Criminal Action No. 5009912-79.2018.4.04.7202 / SC