2-year-old dies after father blows up $200,000 raised for his treatment on hookers, drugs and parties
A sick Brazilian child has reportedly passed away after his father blew up the money that was raised for the child's treatment.
The father spent the money on hookers, drugs, and parties instead of his son's treatment, according to reports. Two-year-old Joao Miguel Alves passed away in his home in Salvador last Thursday after battling spinal muscular atrophy.
According to a report by Metro, it is a degenerative disease that causes muscle weakness. Alves' condition required him to take doses of a costly medicine, Spinraza which is worth $70,000 a pop in order to prevent the disease from progressing.
According to Brazilian outlet Pleno, the family had rallied together to raise more than $200,000 to keep him alive. The government had also agreed to pay for the child's first three treatments and Alves received the first dose of the drug in August.
The 37-year-old Mateus Henrique Leroy Alves and his wife Karine Rodrigues had worked hard to raise the money. However, the funds were wasted away by the child's father. The couple had kept the money in four bank accounts and Mateus had access to two of them.
Mateus was arrested on July 22 after his wife noticed that there had been several large withdrawals from the account. Mateus had also made a few bank transfers from the account.
The father was then busted at a luxury hotel where he had stayed as he threw the money on parties, jewelry, and hookers apart from alcohol and drugs.
According to local media, Mateus had allegedly "invested" £9,495 in a brothel in Conselheiro Lafaiete. Investigator Daniel Gomes revealed that Mateus was charged with larceny and material neglect of his family.
"He remains in detention. There has already been a hearing… the sentence is scheduled to be released next month," Gomes added.
Mateus had shared with authorities that he had been extorted but officials were unable to find any evidence of such an attempt.