In a lawsuit filed by prosecutors Hélio Dimas de Almeida Junior, Luiz Alberto Segalla Bevilacqua and Rafael Augusto Pressuto, seven individuals and a company responsible for selling counterfeit perfumes, as well as manufacturing other cosmetics without any health licence from the competent bodies or the brand owners, were ordered to pay BRL 500,000 in compensation for diffuse moral damage. The defendants will also have to compensate consumers who were harmed by consuming the products.
Based on an investigation carried out by the Special Action Group to Combat Organised Crime (GAECO) in Limeira, it was shown that the defendants had set up a criminal organisation aimed at the illegal manufacture and sale of counterfeit products, such as perfumes, arnica, alcohol gel, hair gel and styling pomades. They began to cause damage to consumers in various cities and states across the country, on a large scale.
In 2019, during the execution of a search and seizure warrant, 7,734 full bottles identified as being from well-known perfumes were found in a shed used by the defendants, among other objects used in the scheme, such as barrels, machinery, packaging and labels. Another 5,000 empty product containers were also found on the premises. In 2021, the group was caught in possession of more than 54,000 bottles of counterfeit perfumes.
"Products of this nature may not produce the expected results or even cause skin blemishes, irritation, allergies, redness, peeling, runny nose, itching, headaches and dizziness. Not only that, but the use of toxic substances, heavy metals, prohibited or poor-quality inputs can cause more serious illnesses, including cancer," the members of the MPSP, who work in the consumer, environmental and public health areas, said in their initial petition.