In January 2012, Maria Verônica Aparecida César Santos (born 1986 or 1987),[1] a Brazilian educator living in Taubaté, simulated being pregnant with quadruplets.
She notably appeared on the Record TV show Hoje em Dia [pt], where she received diapers and a furnished room for the alleged daughters for free.
Chris Flores [pt], the host of Hoje em Dia, was skeptical of the pregnancy and asked reporter Michael Keller to investigate the case, revealing that Santos's sonogram had been copied from the internet and edited.
Santos and her husband, Kléber, faced charges of fraud, but the proceedings were suspended and, years later, dismissed.
Maria Verônica Aparecida César Santos, resident of Taubaté, owned a preschool and, at the time, had a four-year-old son.
[5] The case would have been rare, since approximately one in every nine million women became pregnant with quadruplets, in addition to the fact that her husband had a vasectomy.
[7][8] By the next week, Santos had already appeared on six local programs, with details of her pregnancy, and began to be absent from school to record interviews outside of Taubaté.
[14] In that same program, the sponsor Pampers delivered diapers, and presenter Edu Guedes [pt] cried when revealing that the team had made a furnished room for the babies.
[15] Chris Flores [pt], at the time the host of Hoje em Dia, is credited with "unmasking" Santos.
Flores then asked reporter Michael Keller, who would take Santos to Taubaté after the show, to find out if she was truly pregnant.
Initially, Santos wanted to sue those who believed her pregnancy was fake for defamation, but the lawyer was unsure.
[23] In March, the owner of the original ultrasound filed a lawsuit against Santos for moral damages, citing the improper use of the image.
At the time of publication, Santos lived in the central region of the city with her husband and son, taking care of the house, as the school where she worked was sold.
[28] In October 2020, Flores told Programa da Maisa [pt] that she had already contacted Santos through a mutual friend.
[44] In September 2023, director Frank "Diaraki" announced a movie about the case, titled Grávida de 4 ("Pregnant with 4"), with filming scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2024.