Fake Brazilian doctor treated 30 patients at hospital before revealing she bought $8 degree online

A Brazilian woman, Mirian Santana, was arrested on her first day at a hospital in Coroados, São Paulo, after treating nearly 30 patients while posing as a doctor.

Other healthcare workers became suspicious and discovered that her registration number belonged to a real doctor.

Santana's diploma, purchased online for $8, claimed she completed her coursework in 2022, although the degree program hadn't even begun that year.

When confronted, she admitted to buying the document online. She later confessed to police that she was a speech therapist earning around $802 a month, although police did not confirm her profession.

Santana obtained the job through an outsourcing company involved in a bidding process with City Hall.

She faces charges of illegal exercise of a profession, ideological forgery, use of a false document, danger to life, and attempted embezzlement.

She was taken into custody in Tupi Paulista while Civil Police investigate the case further.