Brad Pitt Speaks Out After French Woman Was Conned Out of $850,000 in Alleged Catfish Scheme
The real Brad Pitt is speaking out after a scammer posing as him allegedly scammed a French woman out of close to a million dollars.
It was recently reported that a 53-year-old woman, identified as Anne, was conned out of $850,000 by a catfish posing as the 61-year-old Oscar-winning actor, who made her believe that they were dating and needed help paying for medical care.
Keep reading to find out more…According to U.K.’s The Times, Anne reportedly told French television outlet TF1 that she was first contacted by someone claiming to be Brad‘s mother, who told her, “It’s a woman like you that my son needs.”
Despite initial skepticism, Anne kept in contact with the person before she was messaged by someone posing as Brad.
“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.”
Anne first sent nearly €10,000 to the scammer when they said they needed her to pay customs tariffs so she could receive gifts they claimed to have sent to her.
“There are so few men who write you this kind of thing,” Anne said. “I liked the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, it was always very well done.”
After reportedly telling the scammer that she had recently divorced her husband, Anne sent almost $800,000 to the fake Brad after they said they had developed kidney cancer and needed a loan because his bank accounts were frozen as a result of his divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie.
The scammer reportedly sent Anne AI-generated images of Brad‘s face over men in hospital beds.
When Anne read that the real Brad was in a relationship with Ines De Ramon, she confronted the scammer, who reportedly sent her something denying the reports. After seeing more and more articles about Brad and Ines‘ relationship, Anne realized that she had been scammed after she was conned out of approximately $850,000. She has since filed a lawsuit and a police inquiry has been opened.
“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” Anne said during her appearance on Sept à huit, according to French outlet AFP. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.
After this story made headlines, Brad released a statement through his rep.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence,” Brad‘s rep shared in a statement with E! News.
If you missed it, Brad and Angelina just recently finalized their divorce, eight years after their split.