A 35-year-old woman received alternative measures to preventive detention in Encarnación, Itapúa department, after being detained for allegedly diverting 200 million guaranis in a currency exchange operation. Maria Claudia Brítez Bareiro was located and arrested on Tuesday morning, August 11, by agents from the Department Against Economic and Financial Crimes of Itapúa. The investigation, initiated from a complaint, examines that in July 2025 the woman, who presented herself as a currency exchanger, received the amount in cash to convert guaranis to dollars or Argentine pesos, but neither completed the transaction nor returned the capital.
In Asunción, the Prosecutor's Office dismantled an alleged pyramid scheme with the arrest of a couple in the Loma Pytã neighborhood on Thursday, August 13. Prosecutor Ítalo Adriano Rienzi, head of Penal Unit No. 2 of Mariano Roque Alonso, led the operation investigating losses exceeding 168 million guaranis in at least eight formal complaints.
The couple, identified as Claudia Elizabeth Villalba Salcedo and her husband, operated a structure that simulated businesses in logistics, merchandising, and event organization, promising returns of up to 10% weekly. Victims were attracted with proposals such as selling water during the pilgrimage to Caacupé or marketing beverages at large-scale events. Initially, they paid small returns to gain trust, but later requested larger investments and halted payments.
The scheme had been operating since late 2025 and used false business documentation, spreadsheets, and commercial references to appear legitimate. When pressured by investors, the main suspect signed promissory notes or debt acknowledgments, a strategy to turn the criminal case into a civil matter and avoid penal action. During the search, promissory notes worth 500 million guaranis and fuel credit requests between 2 and 3 billion guaranis were seized.
Prosecutor Rienzi stated he will seek to charge those involved with aggravated fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, due to the number of victims, continuity of the scheme, and lifestyle funded with diverted money. Authorities encourage other potential victims to file complaints, as many hesitate due to shame or fear of being seen as naive.