French woman loses $880k in fake 'Brad Pitt' romance ruse
A 53-year-old French woman, identifying herself as Anne, fell victim to fraud, losing as much as $880,000. She believed she was in a relationship with Brad Pitt and was paying for his supposed treatment.
Anne, from France, lost as much as $880,000, believing she was corresponding with Brad Pitt. She shared her story on the TF1 program "Sept à huit," and AFP also reported the matter. It all started in February 2023 when she created an Instagram account and received a message from someone claiming to be the actor's mother. Initially, Anne did not believe she was dealing with Jane Etta Pitt, but subsequent messages from the "mother" and "son" convinced her to continue the contact.
She was scammed in a "Brad Pitt" scheme. She lost a fortune and divorced her husband
The scammer sent her love declarations and poems, which gained her approval and trust. At the time, Anne was experiencing a marital crisis, which further influenced her decisions. To lend credibility to his identity, "Brad Pitt" sent her hospital photos generated by artificial intelligence.
I thought I met someone who was interested in me and my work. My husband did not do that, she recalled.
As is often the case, the blooming romance quickly turned to financial matters. The scammer convinced Anne that he had bought her gifts but asked her to cover customs fees. As expected, she never received the "gifts" from "Brad." Later, when he informed her of supposed kidney cancer and the need to cover treatment costs, she agreed to additional transfers.
The scammer, posing as Pitt, claimed his bank accounts were blocked due to a divorce case with Angelina Jolie and he had to pay the doctors somehow. Meanwhile, "Brad" even proposed to Anne, leading her to leave her millionaire husband and transfer funds obtained after the divorce to the scammer's account. In total, she lost hundreds of thousands of euros.
She only realized this in the summer of 2024 when she read in the media that Pitt was dating Ines de Ramon. Anne understood she had been scammed and reported the matter to the police. She now lives off savings, and the situation has led her to depression. It is unclear whether she managed to recover any money from "Brad."
