A Swiss pensioner, who believed she was in a secret romantic relationship with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt, was systematically defrauded of £90,000 in a cruel online deception that culminated in a futile three-week trip to the United States.
The Illusion of a Hollywood Romance
The woman, known as Patricia, explained that the elaborate scam began in May 2024. After following the actor's official Instagram page, she received a message from someone posing as his manager, asking if she would be willing to speak to Pitt directly. "We started communicating normally, like two people meeting, very gently," Patricia recalled. The communication rapidly intensified, with the impersonator eventually declaring his love for her and insisting their relationship remain a secret.
Affectionate messages, including one that read, "My love, you are my everything now and forever," convinced Patricia she was in a genuine relationship. "This is a real relationship developing, so I'm letting myself drift into this feeling of love," she said, describing how she became emotionally invested.
The Financial Drain and a Lonely Wait
The scam escalated when discussions turned to meeting in person. The fake Brad Pitt claimed he needed money to facilitate their encounter, stating it was a $50,000 fee demanded by his management. Initially hesitant, Patricia eventually convinced herself it might be standard practice for a major star. She proceeded to transfer $30,000, followed by another $20,000.
Her hopes soared as the real Brad Pitt appeared at public events, but her dream meeting never materialised. Instead, she received flowers and more promises. The scammer then demanded further payments for alleged medical expenses. Believing he loved her, she continued to pay, becoming overwhelmed by stress but feeling unable to stop.
The deception reached its peak when she was instructed to fly to Los Angeles. Patricia booked a flight, convinced she would finally meet her partner. Instead, she spent three weeks alone in a hotel room, drinking cocktails by herself and waiting for a call that never came. During this lonely vigil, she was coerced into sending an additional $20,000 before finally returning home to Switzerland.
The Crushing Realisation and Lasting Shame
Back in Switzerland, the truth dawned on Patricia when she discovered a news report about a French woman, an interior designer named Anne, who had lost €830,000 to a similar Brad Pitt impersonator. Seeing the parallels in their stories, Patricia realised she had been a victim of an elaborate online fraud.
She went to the police to file an official complaint, stating she had lost almost 100,000 Swiss francs. The emotional damage, however, has been profound. "There's an indescribable shame," Patricia confessed. "I know I spent almost a year living a relationship that didn't exist. You ask yourself: how could I have been taken advantage of like that?"
The French case revealed even more sophisticated tactics, with the scammer using AI-generated images of Pitt in a hospital bed, supposedly suffering from kidney cancer. Fake messages from the actor's mother and a fabricated email from a doctor were used to legitimise the story, with the scammer falsely claiming that Angelina Jolie had frozen Pitt's bank accounts.
These cases serve as a stark warning about the sophisticated methods used by cryptocurrency fraud and romance scammers who exploit emotional vulnerability for significant financial gain.
