Woman FAKES being pregnant for nine months in desperate ploy to get her ex-boyfriend back - before claiming a coworker had STOLEN the 'newborn' from hospital

A Rio de Janeiro woman is facing jail time after she lied to her ex-boyfriend that she was pregnant and then claimed a coworker had stolen her non-existent newborn.

Maria da Silva, 38, carried on a fake pregnancy for nine months, used a picture of a child she found on the internet that she claimed was her own, and even had a baby shower where she received gifts from friends and family members who were unaware that she'd been lying, according to online news portal Extra.

After nine months, she claimed she'd given birth but said a coworker had stolen her newborn from the maternity ward.

On June 15, da Silva visited the 15th precinct in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Gávea and reported that her son, who had been born three days earlier, was missing. 

Police chief Daniel Rosa said da Silva stated that a co-worker who was with her at the hospital room had stolen her child.

But when police began to probe her story, she quickly changed it.

Maria da Silva made her ex-boyfriend believe she was pregnant for nine months. She claimed her newborn son died after she gave birth on June 13 and then told the police a co-worker had stolen the child from a maternity hospital in Rio de Janeiro. Da Silva claimed that she had given the child to the colleague to adopt to get revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend Jandeílson Nascimento, 27

Maria da Silva went on a online site and pulled a photo of a newborn baby, who she claimed was hers as part of her ploy to get her ex-boyfriend back. The 38-year-old woman lied about being pregnant as friends and family members held a baby shower

She claimed that she had given the child to the colleague to adopt to get revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend Jandeílson Nascimento, 27.

The co-worker, who has not been named, told investigators that da Silva had fed her yet another story.

Sent in various text messages, de Silva had said she was going to a maternity hospital to give birth but that her son had died due to a complications with a lung.

She had also told her ex the same - that their 'son' was stillborn.

Maria da Silva was charged with filing a false police report and embezzlement

The former couple met on the day of the bogus birth and Nascimento found da Silva sobbing and lying about the fake newborn's death.

During police interview, da Silva eventually confessed she had never been pregnant, admitting the con job had been crafted so that Nascimento could give their broken relationship a section chance. 

'It is necessary that people are aware that lying when reporting an incident is a crime and whoever commits it must be punished with the rigor of the law,' Rosa said. 

She has been charged with making a false police report and embezzlement.