Roubo de músicas: sertanejo é o primeiro preso por fraude em streaming musical no Brasil

The music theft scheme using fake profiles on Spotify, revealed by UOL in April 2024, was controlled by just one man, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office. Ronaldo Torres de Souza, 46, confessed to the crime when he was preventively arrested in Passo Fundo (RS), on December 5. The country singer, who came close to real success in 2015, is the first person arrested for music streaming fraud in the country. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, he coordinated a network of fake profiles, which made hundreds of tracks available that had been stolen from other composers. Even the fans were fake: the use of bots simulated playing the songs. The investigation indicates that Ronaldo used fake documents to register the artists, but made his Pix account available as the destination for the income from the songs. Around R$2.3 million in cars, cryptocurrencies and other assets were seized.