Manager ordered to return R$ 170 embezzled funds used in gambling.

The labor court in São Paulo has ordered a financial manager to reimburse the waterproofing contractor where he worked. The ruling mandates the payment of nearly R$ 170, the amount the worker allegedly embezzled from the company, in addition to compensation for moral damages.

The man allegedly used his business partner's personal passwords and exceeded the company's overdraft limit.

The party that filed the lawsuit became aware of the fraud after receiving a call from the bank informing them of a negative balance in their account. When questioned, the worker justified the financial situation by stating that it was an automatic debit from the Internal Revenue Service and, later, claimed that the account had been hacked, having produced false bank statements to reinforce the allegations.

According to Judge Sheila Lenuza Amaro de Souza Tognetta, of the 45th Labor Court of São Paulo, "the misappropriation of a significant amount of money for private purposes, especially resulting from the abuse of trust inherent in the position of financial manager, constitutes a clear offense to the subjective honor of the company's sole partner, generating unequivocal psychological suffering and compensable moral damage."

Therefore, in addition to ordering the reimbursement of the embezzled amount, the judge ruled in favor of the claim for compensation for moral damages in the amount of R$ 25. The judge also granted the requested injunction to order the precautionary seizure of money in the defendant's name.

According to Valor's investigation, the manager transferred the funds via Pix to accounts of fintechs and institutions linked to gambling platforms. The decision was handed down on Monday (23) by the Regional Labor Court of São Paulo (TRT-SP). The conviction is still subject to appeal.

"As stated in the initial complaint, there was an improper transfer of funds to gambling companies, a circumstance that, coupled with the public and notorious knowledge of the significant growth in debt resulting from gambling in the country, reinforces the concrete risk of asset dissipation by the defendant in a short period of time," he concluded.

Although properly summoned, the defendant did not appear at the hearing.