Brazilian Judge Indicted for Using Fake British Name for 45 Years
Last edited Tue Apr 8, 2025, 02:05 PM - Edit history (2)
Magistrate claimed to be of noble descent and spent his entire career under a false identity, prosecutors say
Apr.4.2025 12:00PM
Tulio Kruse
Bruno Ribeiro
São Paulo
A retired judge from São Paulo, Brazil, has been indicted on suspicion of ideological falsehood and use of a forged document. According to the charges, the deception of Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd-Canterbury Caterham Wickfield—who claimed to be of British descent—lasted more than four decades.
The state Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the judge’s real name is José Eduardo Franco dos Reis. He had been using documents under the false name since 1980, gaining admission to law school at USP and passing a judicial exam under that identity. He retired in 2018.
SÃO PAULO, SP, 11.10.2019 - Facade of the Palace of Justice building in São Paulo, headquarters of the São Paulo Court of Justice. (Foto: Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress) - Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress
His original name was discovered when he tried to obtain a new copy of his ID using the surname Wickfield, and was identified through fingerprint analysis.
In a statement to police, Reis claimed that Edward Wickfield is his twin brother, who was allegedly given to another family during childhood. He said he met this supposed brother in 1980 and that he later returned to England. He provided police with an address in the West Kensington neighborhood of London and a phone number.
More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2025/04/brazilian-judge-indicted-for-using-fake-british-name-for-45-years.shtml
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Google translation from Brazilian newspaper:
José Eduardo Franco dos Reis, who used the fictitious name of Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield • Reproduction
The retired judge who was denounced by the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP) for using a false document and ideological falsehood used a passport with the name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield to leave the country after the fraud was discovered, according to the complaint.
The court ordered the suspension of his retirement.
The 67-year-old defendant is actually named José Eduardo Franco dos Reis. The complaint also indicates that the judge had two electoral registrations and two CPFs. In 1995, shortly after passing the judge's exam, José Eduardo gave an interview in which he said he was descended from “British nobles.”
Throughout his career, the man used a false name and held prominent positions in the Court of Justice of São Paulo. The plot was investigated by the Civil Police after the judge tried to obtain a new ID card with the false name in October 2024.
Under a fictitious name, José Eduardo studied Law at the University of São Paulo (USP) in the 1980s and, years later, took a public exam and entered the São Paulo judiciary.
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Judge accused of creating false identity has unknown whereabouts and payment cut by SP court
Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield, a 67-year-old retired magistrate, is actually called José Eduardo Franco dos Reis, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office. The case was revealed by g1.
By Reynaldo Turollo Jr , g1 — Sao Paulo
04/04/2025 10:52 PM Updatedhá 2 horas
São Paulo judge accused of using false identity for more than 40 years
The retired judge who became a defendant in the São Paulo Court under accusations of ideological falsehood and use of a false document gave a statement to the Civil Police on December 2, 2024 and, three days later, moved from the address where he lived in the capital of São Paulo.
Since then, the whereabouts of Judge Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield , 67 — whose real name is José Eduardo Franco dos Reis , according to the Public Prosecutor's Office — have been unknown to investigators. The case was revealed by g1 this Thursday (3).
On Friday (4), the 29th Criminal Court of São Paulo issued a summons so that Reis could be notified of the criminal action against him and present his defense . The complaint was received by the Court on Monday (31).
On Friday night, the Court of Justice of São Paulo announced in a note that the president of the Court, Fernando Antonio Torres Garcia, "decided to administratively suspend, until further notice, payments of any nature" that would be made to Judge Wickfield. (Read the full note below).
In his statement to the police, he introduced himself as José Eduardo Franco dos Reis and said that Wickfield is his twin brother, who was given up for adoption as a child. (See details below).
G1 sought to contact the judge, but was unable to locate him by the time this report was published .
Edward v. José: Judge used documents with different names for 44 years
The story
According to investigations, Reis was born on March 16, 1958, according to the registry office in Águas da Prata (SP). In 1973, he obtained an ID with his real name. In 1980, he obtained an ID with the false name Wickfield by presenting a birth certificate with false data.
Always with the name Edward Albert Lancelot Dodd Canterbury Caterham Wickfield , who claimed to come from British nobility, Reis studied law at USP, took the exam and entered the São Paulo judiciary in 1995. He served as a judge for 23 years, until retiring in April 2018.
According to the Prosecutor's Office's complaint, the motivations for creating the fictitious personality remain unknown . At the same time, he kept his real identity documents up to date.
The farce pointed out by the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office began to fall apart in October 2024, when the judge went to Poupatempo Sé, in the center of São Paulo, to obtain a new ID in Wickfield's name.
His fingerprints were collected and compared electronically with the Civil Police database. This technology began to be applied in 2014 to all people who obtain an ID card in São Paulo.
A comparison of the fingerprints showed signs that there were two people with identical marks. The investigators then began to analyze the documents of these two people and discovered that they were one and the same.
In the documentary analysis, investigators discovered that the birth certificates of Reis and "Wickfield" had the same registration number in the same registry office in the municipality of Águas da Prata, but the rest of the data was different.
Reis was born on March 16, 1958; "Wickfield", on March 10 of that year. Reis is the son of Natalina and José; "Wickfield", of Anna Marie Dubois Vincent Wickfield and Richard Lancelot Canterbury Caterham Wickfield.
The registry office informed investigators that Reis' birth certificate is registered there, but Wickfield's is not registered.
Surprise at the police station
While investigators were further analyzing the suspected duplication, the Poupatempo system was automatically blocked and unable to issue a new copy of Wickfield's ID.
The judge was then informed by Poupatempo that he should go to the Identification Institute to regularize the situation — which is standard practice in cases of suspected duplication, because there may be a system error.
Upon arriving at the institute on December 2, the judge was questioned by police officer Raphael Zanon da Silva. There, he introduced himself as José Eduardo Franco dos Reis and said he worked as a craftsman.
He also stated that Wickfield is his twin brother, who was given up for adoption as a child. According to this version, Wickfield grew up in England, sought out Reis when they were both adults and came to spend some time in Brazil.
During that season, Reis would have gone to Poupatempo to request an ID for his supposed twin brother, who would be a teacher, not the judge.
The story, however, did not convince the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office. In January, investigators went to Judge Wickfield's address, in Vila Mariana, in the south of São Paulo, and heard from the building's building manager that the judge had moved on December 5 without saying where he was going.
Investigators also went to the address declared as being that of José Eduardo Franco dos Reis and found no evidence that he had lived there.
In the same statement to the police in December 2024, Reis was asked about two women identified by the police as being his sisters. He replied that he "did not remember" the two women.
The investigation, however, gathered documents that would prove that, from 2022 onwards, the judge donated a property in Minas Gerais to one of his sisters and sold an apartment located in Guarujá (SP) to the other.
There is no evidence that these real estate transactions with the sisters involved other irregularities.
What does the Court of Justice say?
"Regarding the retired judge of the Court of Justice of São Paulo, accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office of using a false identity, the TJSP informs that president Fernando Antonio Torres Garcia decided, today (4), to administratively suspend, until further notice, payments of any nature that would be made to him.
The TJSP reiterates that there is a matter pending assessment within the jurisdictional scope and that the Judiciary cannot pronounce itself regarding the effects of a possible conviction (article 36, item III, of the Organic Law of the Judiciary – Law nº 35/79, which prohibits judges from expressing themselves, by any means of communication, regarding cases pending judgment). It should be noted, finally, that the case is being processed in secret.
Comentários (380)
04/04/2025 10:52 PM Updatedhá 2 horas
Original article, with new video clip:
https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2025/04/04/juiz-acusado-de-criar-identidade-falsa-tem-paradeiro-desconhecido-e-pagamento-cortado-por-tribunal-de-sp.ghtml
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= new reply since forum marked as read
By MATTHEW WRIGHT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Published: 21:18 EDT, 28 May 2017 | Updated: 23:27 EDT, 28 May 2017
At President Donald Trump's golf course and estates across the country, his coat of arms - three lions and two chevrons on a shield, below a gloved hand holding an arrow - can be seen everywhere.
This weekend, Trump hosted the Senior P.G.A. Championship at the Trump National Golf Club in Washington D.C. and the emblem could be seen in exercise rooms, the pro shop and even the front sign.
But the emblem is not a Trump original and actually has origins with a British family.
President Donald Trump's coat of arms has three lions and two chevrons on a shield, below a gloved hand holding an arrow and can be found at his golf courses across the country and at his favorite getaway at Mar-A-Lago
Trump, pictured at the opening of Red Tiger Golf Course, also has his name on the emblem
Trump attempted to establish the American logo at his Scotland golf course in Aberdeenshire but ran into issues a decade ago
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4551060/Coat-arms-used-Trump-properties-rip-off.html
More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4551060/Coat-arms-used-Trump-properties-rip-off.html
