Joshua S. Levy, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
A Brazilian national residing in Malden, Massachusetts, has admitted guilt in a federal court in Boston for providing false information on his asylum application and during an immigration hearing. Antonio Jose De Abreu Vidal Filho, 31, did not disclose his arrest related to the murders of 11 individuals in Brazil when applying for a U.S. Visa. This incident is known as The Slaughter of Curió.
De Abreu pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper, who set sentencing for May 29, 2025. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2024.
In April 2014, De Abreu joined the Ceara State Military Police in Brazil. On November 12, 2015, he participated with other officers in a mass killing event targeting young people from impoverished neighborhoods in Ceará's capital. The killings were retaliation for the death of another officer defending his wife from assault.
The massacre resulted in the deaths of 11 people and injuries to many others. Brazilian authorities charged De Abreu along with others involved. He was arrested on August 31, 2016, but released pending trial on May 24, 2017.
Two weeks after his release, De Abreu applied for a U.S. non-immigrant B2 visitor visa while in Recife, Brazil. He falsely stated that he had never been arrested or convicted of any crime. His visa was approved on June 21, 2017, allowing him to travel to Miami on May 30, 2018.
From May 30, 2018 through August 14, 2023, De Abreu acquired various state driver's licenses and employment authorizations based on his visa approval.
On January 29, 2020, he applied for asylum and again lied about his criminal history when questioned by United States Citizenship and Immigration Service officials.
On June 25, 2023, De Abreu was convicted of multiple crimes including murder and torture by the First Court of Fortaleza in Ceará and sentenced to over two centuries in prison.
During an immigration hearing on February 9, 2024 conducted by U.S. Immigration Court under oath testimony falsely claimed that he had not lied to immigration officials previously.
The charges against him carry significant penalties including up to ten years imprisonment for misuse of visas or permits; five years each for perjury or falsifying material facts; supervised release periods; fines reaching $250k per charge are possible too according federal guidelines governing such cases' sentences imposition process
United States Attorney Leah B Foley announced this development alongside several special agents representing Homeland Security Investigations New England branch Social Security Administration Inspector General Office Boston Field Office Diplomatic Security Service Fraud Detection National Security Division among others involved investigation prosecution led Assistant US Attorney Laura Kaplan National Security Unit collaboration Interagency Human Rights Violators War Crimes Center
