A heartless dad was arrested after stealing almost $200,000 out of his sick son’s donations fund and spending the money on prostitutes, drugs, and parties.
37-year-old Mateus Alves, who is unemployed, had been on the run after plundering more than half of the $300,000 pool of funds raised for his sick son by generous friends and family members.
Alves’ 19-month-old son João Miguel was diagnosed with a rare degenerative neuromuscular disease also known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
To treat the disorder, the boy needs to receive six doses of expensive medication that costs $100,000 per dose.
After raising $300,000, the family was determined to buy the first three doses only to find out that the boy’s father has emptied the toddler’s bank account and ran away.
The 37-year-old was arrested at a 5-star hotel in Salvador, Brazil, after being on his spending spree for more than one month.
“At the time of his arrest, Mateus claimed he had spent the money bingeing on women, drinks and drugs. He also alleged that he was being blackmailed by drug dealers for the rest of the money. But we have no evidence so far to support this claim,” Chief Daniel Gomes explained.
“During questioning, Mateus told us that he had already invested 50,000 reais ($12,500) in a brothel in Salvador to become a joint owner. His role would be to bring women from Belo Horizonte to work in Salvador.
“According to our information, he planned to bring at least four women and put them up in rented apartments as call girls. In return, they would have to pass some of the money raised from their services to him.”
During the raid of the penthouse suite Alves was staying in, the police found expensive items including jewelry, designer clothes, drugs, perfumes, and cash.
Following the arrest, the man’s wife spoke out and claimed she never believed her husband to be capable of doing something like that.
“As a mother, my conduct has always been guided by good faith and for the sole purpose of trying to save the life of my son João Miguel,” she wrote on Instagram.
The man has been charged with fraudulent activities as well as abandoning his children and is facing a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison in total.
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