Economic Fraud
Hollywood Star Impersonator Dupes French Woman of Rs 7.37 Crore with Fake Cancer and Divorce Drama
A 53-year-old French woman, Anne, fell victim to a sophisticated online scam where she believed she was in a romantic relationship with Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. Speaking on TF1’s “Sept à huit,” Anne revealed how the fraudster extorted Rs 7.47 crore from her over months of deceit.
The scam began in February 2023, during a ski trip in Tignes, when Anne, an interior designer, received a message from an Instagram account claiming to be Brad Pitt’s mother. Soon after, she was contacted by someone posing as Brad Pitt himself. The imposter used poetic messages and AI-generated videos to convince Anne of his identity and affection. Despite never speaking to him directly, Anne believed the relationship was genuine. Their supposed romance escalated, with the fake Pitt proposing marriage, prompting Anne to divorce her millionaire husband.
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The scam deepened when the fraudster claimed to have sent Anne luxury gifts but required her to pay Rs 8.10 lakh in customs fees. Later, he fabricated a story about suffering from kidney cancer, requesting funds for treatment, claiming his accounts were frozen due to a divorce from Angelina Jolie. Anne complied, believing she was saving his life, further manipulated by AI-generated photos of Pitt in a hospital bed.
Anne ultimately realized the deception after seeing real photos of Brad Pitt with his partner, Ines de Ramon. By then, she had lost Rs 7.47 crore, including the Rs 6.98 crore compensatory payment from her divorce. Currently hospitalized for severe depression, Anne’s ordeal highlights the dangers of online scams. Brad Pitt’s name has been used in similar fraud cases before, including a Spanish scheme where five people were arrested for extorting Rs 2.93 crore from vulnerable women.
Anne’s story serves as a cautionary tale of the risks of online impersonation and emotional manipulation.
