Overview

• Police froze assets across five states as part of the crackdown on the AI-enabled ad scheme.
• The probe began in August 2024 after a victim reported an altered video ad falsely showing Bundchen promoting a skincare product.
• Investigators say the group also ran giveaways that charged shipping for items that never arrived and pushed false betting platforms using other celebrity deepfakes.
• Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled in June that platforms can be liable if they fail to swiftly remove criminal ads, and Meta says it bans deceptive celebrity endorsements and removes such ads when detected.
• Authorities described typical losses under 100 reais per victim and low reporting rates, which allowed the operation to scale with little immediate pushback.