Popó's son is accused of enticing players to manipulate results in sports betting.

Igor Freitas, son of boxer Popó, was indicted by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraná (MP-PR) along with Rodrigo Rossi and Raphael Ribeiro for attempting to entice players to manipulate results in sports betting. The indictment was filed on Wednesday (February 5th), following investigations by Operation Derby, which identified approaches to several athletes, including full-back Reinaldo, from Mirassol, who refused to participate in the scheme.

The investigation revealed that the trio operated in the three main divisions of the Brazilian Championship. According to information from ge Globo, Igor made initial contact with the athletes via Instagram and WhatsApp, introducing himself as Popó's son and describing himself as "a businessman and representative with direct access to the largest companies in the national market," "working on strategic projects, activations, and negotiations of sponsorships and partnerships."

After the initial contact made by Igor Freitas, the athletes' numbers were forwarded to Rodrigo Rossi, who continued the negotiations. During the conversations, Igor introduced his partner as someone who works "with more than 25 legalized betting houses in Brazil".

Left-back Reinaldo, from Mirassol, was one of the players contacted. In August 2025, he received messages from Rodrigo Rossi via WhatsApp, including an audio message followed by a single-view message. The player responded directly: “Brother, thank you. I don’t do that, I already told you, brother.”

---

Audio from Public Prosecutor Leandro Antunes Meirelles Machado

---

Operation Derby began in September 2025, initially investigating an offer of R$ 15 made to Londrina players to receive yellow cards in a Série C match of the Brazilian Championship.

Investigations revealed that the group also attempted to recruit players from teams in the Série B and Série A. In one of the intercepted conversations, Raphael instructed Rodrigo to "close the 2 deals with Goiás and 1 with Sport".

The Special Task Force to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) of Londrina carried out operations in Salvador and Itapema in September 2025. The actions were supported by the security forces of Bahia and Santa Catarina, resulting in the execution of four search and seizure warrants and two personal search warrants.

The three defendants are charged with the crimes of criminal association, as stipulated in Law 288 of the Penal Code, and corruption in the sports field, as contemplated in the General Sports Law (Law 14.587/2023). The penalties can reach up to six years of imprisonment, in addition to a fine.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraná (MP-PR) requested that the court, in addition to convicting the accused, order the payment of R$ 150 for collective moral damages as compensation for the harm caused to the integrity of the sport.

According to the document obtained by the news report, there is a "considerable probability that these funds originate from illicit activities, specifically related to the enticement of athletes and the manipulation of results, aiming to obtain profits on sports betting platforms."

The defendants' lawyers were contacted, but had not responded by the time this report was published.