swindler or con artist, untrustworthy person
Não fecha negócio com ele, é 171: já deu calote em meia cidade.
Don't do business with him, he's a 171: he's already swindled half the town.
The slang comes straight from Article 171 of the Brazilian Penal Code (Decreto-Lei 2.848/1940), which defines the crime of estelionato — fraud: obtaining an unlawful advantage to someone else’s detriment by deceiving someone through trickery or any other fraudulent means.
Sources: Código Penal (Planalto), Politize!.
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