Ex-CS:GO pro sentenced to 116 years in prison for fraud
A former Brazilian CS:GO pro and social media influencer Shayene "shAy" Victorio has reportedly been sentenced to 116 years in prison after being convinced of for embezzlement related to a business she and her ex-partner ran from 2013-2017.
Although not one of the most famous personalities in the Anglosphere, shAy is an established figure in the Brazilian esports scene, known for her competitive background in the Counter-Strike scene, where she is regarded as one of the biggest female esports stars.
Active from 2008-2019, shAy competed in both Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and played a pivotal role in the rise of female CS scene in Brazil. All of her contributions to the scene, however, have been overshadowed by her legal problems, relating to an online store she ran between 2013 and 2017.
According to the reports, Brazil's Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime carried out an investigation into accusations that stated shAy – as a co-owner and operator of an online retail store from 2013-2017 – sold goods that were never delivered to the customers nor refunded.
In an Instagram post, ShAy denied the claims and pointed the blame at her former partner in the venture, claiming that the shop issues were the fault of her ex-husband, who supposedly took full responsibility for the crimes.
Her lawyers also released a statement, claiming, shAy has been target defamation and that they will appeal against the sentence, which they deemed as inhumane.
"ShAy is now the target of defamation on the internet, with people creating fake pages to attack her, simply for the purpose of gossip and malevolence,” said shAy's lawyer.
"We will appeal against the sentence that we consider inhumane, awaiting a new decision and under the guise of the principle of innocence, as it can only be someone found guilty when the sentence is final."
The 116 years sentence, however, is only a formality, as the maximum jail time in Brazil, regardless of her sentence is 30 years, meaning that in the worst-case scenario, shAy would be out of jail in 2050.
The influencer has gained notoriety in the Counter-Strike scene for her appearances in Counter-Strike 1.6 and CS:GO as a professional player. Throughout her 11-year-long career, shAy played for several organisations such as aiMuse, FireGamers Ladies, mibr Girls, ProGaming.fe, GamerHouse.Girls, paiN Girls, Santos Dexterity, Team Innova Pink, Team One RED, Bootkamp Gaming.fe and most recently for Keyd Stars Female.
ShAy also participated in several tournaments, where she saw a reasonable amount of success, including a fourth-place finish at ESQC 2011 Women, a silver medal at GAMECON Challenge CS:GO Feminino 2018 and top placement at Brasil Game Cup Female. The former CS pro announced her retirement in May 2019, when she decided to dedicate her time to become a social media influencer.
ShAy is currently the girlfriend of Jean, a goalkeeper for Atlético-Go, a Brazilian top-tier football club, who has also had his fair share of problems with the law, as he was accused by his ex-wife of assault while on vacation in Florida in December 2019.
