A SCAMMER who conned a French woman out of nearly £700,000 by pretending to be Brad Pitt has been unmasked in Nigeria – and he’s already moved on to posing as another celebrity.
Interior designer Anne, 53, was scammed into funding a fake cancer treatment for the star after receiving AI-generated selfies and sweet-talking texts.
XA scammer convinced her to hand over nearly £700,000 for his ‘cancer treatment’[/caption]
XThe French woman would receive poorly photoshopped pics of the actor with love messages[/caption]
The Mega AgencyThe scammer is now reportedly pretending to be Keanu Reeves[/caption]
The cruel romance con lasted over a year, costing Anne her fortune, her marriage, and her mental health.
“It wasn’t easy, but we found him,” said Marwan Ouarab, founder of Find My Scammer, who tracked down the fake Brad Pitt using a booby-trapped link to access the crook’s phone.
The team uncovered his identity, his Nigerian base, and 34 other victims.
“It’s a small group of three or four young people,” Ouarab told French outlet 20 Minutes.
“He’s still active, now pretending to be Keanu Reeves.”
Ouarab has shared evidence with Nigerian authorities and Interpol but doubts they’ll act.
“The justice system there rarely moves,” he said, warning the scammer could stay at large.
Brad Pitt’s team called the scam “awful” and urged fans not to engage with unsolicited messages.
Anne’s nightmare began in February 2023 when someone posing as Pitt’s mum messaged her on Instagram, claiming Brad needed “someone like her.”
Hours later, “Brad” slid into her DMs with poems, romantic gestures, and promises of luxury gifts.
Anne, said to have been struggling in her marriage, was swept off her feet.
She divorced her husband, pocketed a £670,000 (€775,000) settlement, and started wiring cash to the scammer.
Smitten, she sent £7,566 for “customs fees” on fake presents, followed by £50,500 for fake cancer treatment.
The scammer used AI photos of Pitt in a hospital bed to pull at her heartstrings, with fake doctors emailing her to say her beloved Brad was “fighting to survive”.
Fake Brad would also tell Anne that he could not access his money because of his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie.
“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing,” Anne previously told French media.
“I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”
XFake Brad would also tell Anne that he could not access his money because of his ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie[/caption]
XThe scammer would email Anne posing as doctors to say that Brad was ‘fighting to survive’[/caption]
When Anne saw the real Pitt pictured with girlfriend Ines de Ramon, the penny dropped.
But by then, she’d wired £697,000 to her so-called soulmate.
But even then, the scammer doubled down, sending fake “news flashes” claiming Pitt was secretly dating “a special person.”
And in a final cruel twist, someone pretending to be an FBI agent offered to “rescue” her from the scam — for another £4,200.
Humiliated, homeless, and battling severe depression, Anne’s story aired on TF1’s Seven to Eight, sparking online mockery.
TF1 pulled the interview after backlash, saying Anne needed protection.
“She’s been left ruined and suicidal,” reported BFMTV.
Now penniless and homeless, Anne has sold all her furniture, moved in with a friend, and launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover her legal fees.
After three suicide attempts, she’s been hospitalised in a clinic specialising severe depression, reports BFMTV.
Anne has filed a complaint and an investigation is currently underway.
XHer daughter initially raised the alarm that her mum could be falling victim to a scam[/caption]
TF1The French woman was left penniless after the scam[/caption]
Brad’s warning on romance scams
BRAD Pitt previously had to issue a warning to his fans after learning about a criminal scheme where scammers impersonated him to defraud two women of over $350,000.
In a statement to People magazine in September 2024, a representative for the Oscar-winning actor emphasized the dangers of engaging with unsolicited online outreach, particularly from individuals posing as celebrities.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, and this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence,” the rep said.
Pitt’s team urged fans to stay vigilant and remember that the actor does not have any personal social media accounts.
They also remind the public to be cautious when engaging online, especially with individuals who claim to be high-profile figures.
The warning came shortly after Spanish authorities arrested five suspects involved in the scam.
Spain’s Guardia Civil police said the criminals targeted women through an online fanpage dedicated to Pitt.
They convinced the victims they were in a romantic relationship with the actor, later persuading them to transfer large sums of money as investments in Pitt’s alleged projects.
One victim lost over $168,000, while another was defrauded of approximately $195,500.
Only $94,000 has been recovered so far.
Cops revealed that the scammers had meticulously studied the victims’ social media accounts, creating psychological profiles to exploit their vulnerabilities, which included emotional distress and loneliness.
The suspects, three of whom were arrested in November and two in July, face charges of fraud, money laundering, and forgery.
Authorities believe additional members of the criminal organisation remain under investigation.
