A paper trail left by a notorious land grabber reveals how he used relatives and an employee as fronts to evade environmental fines and lawsuits, shedding light on this widespread practice in the Brazilian Amazon.

This strategy, described as commonplace in the Amazon, has long been a stumbling block for investigators. By hiding behind fronts (known as laranjas, or oranges, in Brazilian slang) — often illiterate or unsophisticated people who aren’t fully aware of the consequences — land grabbers can evade laws on land regulation and shield themselves against lawsuits, jail and environmental fines. These notices are never paid since fronts usually don’t have the money for it.

Fronts prevent the real criminals from having their assets seized to pay for environmental fines, besides consuming time and resources from the authorities, who spend years trying to prove who the real financier of the deforestation is.