Maria Branca dos Santos, more commonly referred to as "'' Dona''" Branca (1902–1992), was a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

criminal known chiefly for maintaining a Ponzi scheme in Portugal between 1970 and 1984 that paid a ten percent monthly interest. During this time she became popularly known as "The people's banker". Dona Branca was arrested in 1984, and in 1988 she was sentenced to 10 years in prison.Visão
Apanhados pelos selos, 18 May 2006. She was one of the last inmates of Convento das Mónicas when it was dismantled in 1989. In 1993 RTP created a

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...

titled ''A Banqueira do Povo'' ("The People's Banker") based on these events with

Eunice Muñoz Eunice Muñoz, Order of St. James of the Sword, OSE, Order of Infante D. Henrique, GCIH (30 July 1928 – 15 April 2022) was a Portuguese actress, considered one of the best Portuguese actresses ever. She was born in Amareleja, Portugal. She st ...

playing the role of the title character, in this case ''Dona Benta''.

References

External links

"A Banqueira do Povo" at IMDb
Portuguese fraudsters Portuguese female criminals Pyramid and Ponzi schemes 1902 births 1992 deaths Portuguese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Portugal {{Portugal-bio-stub