Woman in her 30s who pretended to be a child and lived with family found guilty of fraud

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for August 22 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on FoxNews.com. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Hören Sie sich diesen Artikel an 2 Min A woman in Brazil was found guilty this week of living with a foster family for more than a year while pretending to be a child, officials said. Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira, who is in reality 37 years old, was convicted of fraud and false identity on Thursday, according to a translated release from the Court of Justice of Santa Catarina in Brazil. Oliveira, who the family took in as their daughter for 14 months until her scheme was uncovered, claimed she had fled abuse. FEDS BUST ONE OF LARGEST ALLEGED MARRIAGE fraud SCHEMES IN US HISTORY INVOLVING 1,000-PLUS CHINESE SHAM UNIONS Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was convicted of fraud and false identity in Brazil. (Campo Grande Civil Police) The woman later admitted to creating a false identity and age, the court said. Oliveira had been living falsely as a child for 15 years in an "elaborate fraud," the Washington Post reported, using a high-pitched, childlike voice and even telling people she had been forced to get hormones to make her look older. COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPION WHO WORE WIGS IN fraud SCHEME PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGES She was sentenced to one year, six months and 10 days in prison, along with four months and 18 days of detention. One of her lawyers, Lúcio Sousa, said that Oliveira’s scheme was how she "survived." Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira was sentenced by a court in Brazil to one year, six months and 10 days in prison, along with four months and 18 days of detention for fraud and false identity. (iStock) "She admits that she invented an identity," Sousa said before the verdict, according to the Post. "It was the way she found to survive. But she has been a vulnerable person for more than 20 years. "She has lived on the streets, and there has been no allegation that she obtained any financial advantage, or committed robbery or theft, which, in theory, means the elements of fraud have not been established." "Of course, I deceived people, I lied," she said, according to police, the Post reported. "But I didn’t intend to scam anyone." Amanda Maria Souza de Oliveira is photographed in jail after she was convicted of fraud and false identity by pretending to be a child while living with a foster family in Brazil. (Campo Grande Civil Police) She said she wanted to experience the love she never got as a child. "There was a certain void in me, a need to have that kind of care, so I always sought it out," she said. After the verdict, Sousa said in a statement on Instagram, they would "pursue all appropriate legal measures and appeals before the higher courts." Brie Stimson is a Los Angeles-based entertainment and breaking news writer for Fox News Digital.