How an AI Brad Pitt fraudster convinced woman to split with millionaire husband and fund $850,000 cancer treatment
A woman was scammed into giving over $850,000 by an AI-generated Brad Pitt who convinced her they were in love and needed money for medical treatment.
'Brad Pitt.'
TFI
TFI
TFI
The 53-year-old French woman said that the "relationship" began shortly after she got a message from an account pretending to be Jane Etta Pitt, the Hollywood star's mother, informing her that she was the perfect woman for her son. The computer-generated version of the Fight Club star messaged her the next day, wanting to learn more about her.
Lia Toby/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Over the following year and a half, her bogus 'boyfriend' sent her poetry, confessions of love, and finally asked her to marry him - all part of a sophisticated scheme aimed to trick her into handing over money. Police are now looking into the scam that left the woman hospitalized with depression.
"There are only a few men who write to you like that," the interior designer told French media. "I adored the man I was speaking with. He knew how to communicate with ladies, and everything was extremely nicely put together."
According to the French publication Sud Ouest, she was going through a divorce with a successful entrepreneur who was 19 years her senior.
The solicitations for money began when the fraudster behind the AI claimed to be shipping her luxury handbags but informed her she had to pay the customs fees - the first being $9,500. Eventually, the AI, still imitating the star, said he was in the hospital with kidney cancer and needed money for treatment.
He even informed her that Pitt's real-life ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, had closed his bank accounts, denying him access to his riches.
Despite her reservations, the bogus star's "doctor" comforted her by emailing her that Pitt was dying and battling for his life, at which time she transferred around $825,000 to a Turkish account.
"We're talking about Brad Pitt here and I was stunned," she said. "At first, I thought it was fake, but I didn't really understand what was happening to me."
When the victim's daughter informed her mother that she was being duped, she said, "You'll see when he's here in person, then you'll say sorry."
The woman realized she was being duped in the summer of 2024, when the real Pitt was spotted with his current companion Inès de Ramon.
She revealed the scam to French channel TF1, which later removed the interview after she was cyber-bullied.
