Federal officials have tracked down a 47-year-old Brazilian man in Florida, accusing him of being a crucial figure in a $200,000 armed robbery of a cash courier in Marlborough last autumn. The defendant, identified by prosecutors as Helbert Oliveira, is now facing federal charges alleging that he used a gun to force the courier to hand up a bag of cash, the result of a months-long investigation that relied primarily on security footage and car records.
The Hobbs Act is the federal legislation that prosecutors use when a heist involves interstate commerce. The maximum term is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release, according to the US Attorney’s Office. High-dollar courier robberies like this one frequently draw federal scrutiny and coordination among local police, the FBI, and federal prosecutors.
According to investigators, a black Nissan Rogue that followed the courier for much of the journey provided a critical lead. The SUV was rented from Enterprise, and the listed renter was Curt Porcher, who was detained in February, according to prosecutors. Porcher plans to amend his plea on July 21, 2026. Authorities claim Oliveira was later arrested in Florida as part of the same investigation, in what the Boston Herald describes as the most recent batch of arrests.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have routinely used the Hobbs Act to pursue crews who target cash couriers and significant cash transactions. One high-profile example was a 2024 Swansea case in which individuals were indicted for allegedly stealing over $436,000 from a courier. According to reports on three defendants charged with a $436K armed robbery, this prosecution and related instances demonstrate the type of multiagency effort and rental-vehicle tracing that frequently crack major investigations.
Oliveira is likely to appear before federal authorities in Massachusetts to face Hobbs Act charges. Upcoming court files and hearings should offer further insight on Oliveira’s and Porcher’s claimed actions, as well as the robbery’s overall timeframe. As with any federal case, defendants are assumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
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