João Ricardo Rangel Mendes was arrested in the act for the crimes committed in hotel and luxury mall
Businessman João Ricardo Rangel Mendes, 44, in the act on Friday (25.abr.br.2025) for stealing works of art in a hotel and a luxury mall in Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of Rio. João Ricardo is former CEO of HURB, Old Urban Hotel.
In videos recorded by security cameras, you can see the moment when Rangel goes down a motorcycle when he arrives at the hotel. In another record, the entrepreneur is in a backpack, removing a work of art from the wall and placing in a sofa, in the common area of the establishment.
Watch the video with the 2 moments (34seg):
According to the Civil Police of the 16th DP (Barra da Tijuca), the mall’s direction sought the corporation after analyzing the security cameras and splashing the man stealing works of art from the architectural office in the commercial complex. In the images, João Ricardo was identified.
After stealing the pieces, he fled the scene. The sculptures and paintings are valued at about $ 23,000, according to the Rio Civil Police.
The police went to the businessman’s house, who tried to escape when he noticed the arrival of the agents, but was eventually arrested on the terrace of the building in which he lives.
3 ceramic sculptures and 1 of the stolen paintings of the architectural office at his residence were found. The 2nd table taken by him has not yet been recovered, according to the Civil Police.
The agents seized the motorcycle used by him in the theft and that was out of sign. “All material has been returned to the legitimate owners, and agents of the 16th DP follow in steps to locate the last work of art. The man was charged in the act for the crime of theft.”said the Rio Civil Police.
João Ricardo was transferred to the public jail José Frederico Marques in Benfica, in the north of Rio. The former CEO will undergo a custody hearing.
PROBLEMS HURB
The businessman was CEO of HURB until 2023. At the time, the company began hotels throughout Brazil and accumulate complaints from customers who could not travel or stay on the platform and found hotels in precarious situations. HURB faces thousands of lawsuits in court, which total almost R $ 4 million in compensation.
The former CEA resigned after the release of videos in which he from a client in a group of company employees on WhatsApp.
At the time, he acknowledged having made mistakes and said he was “embarrassed”. He recalled the dedication to the company since its inception in 2011. “These recent events, in fact, were errors of ‘João Ricardo Mendes’ and not from an entire company that is much larger than me”these.
