Scammer Posing As Brad Pitt Cons French Woman Out Of $850,000

A French woman has been scammed out of her life savings and even divorced her husband after being duped by AI-generated images of Brad Pitt in the hospital.

The woman, identified as Anne in the interview on the French radio program “Seven to Eight” on the TF1 channel, sent the scammers more than $850,000 over the course of one year. The 53-year-old interior designer explained how she was contacted by someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother via social media.

“It’s a woman like you that my son needs,” the woman posing as Pitt’s mother said, per People. Anne claimed to be skeptical at first but eventually believed it was true after being contacted by someone posing as Pitt himself.

“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne told TF1. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”

At first, Anne sent around $10,000 to help pay customs tariffs as requested by the scammer so she could receive gifts from the person posing as Pitt. She later handed over about $798,000, the bulk of her divorce settlement, to help the person she believed was Pitt pay medical bills. The scammer claimed his bank accounts were frozen due to ongoing divorce proceedings with his ex, Angelina Jolie.

“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing,” Anne said during the interview. “I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”

The impersonator also sent AI-generated photos of what looked like Pitt in the hospital to convince Anne she was helping him pay for kidney treatment. The woman figured out she was being conned after seeing news reports that Pitt was in a relationship with Ines De Ramon.

“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this,” Anne told TF1. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”

TF1 has taken down the interview after it went viral due to online harassment Anne began receiving from the public for being gullible enough to fall for the scam, The Guardian noted.

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A rep for Pitt also commented on the story, reiterating that his client does not have social media, making criminals more likely to use his image for scams. 

“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” the rep said. “But this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”

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