A pensioner in Switzerland has been left out of around 100,000 Swiss francs (102,000 euros) after being duped by a conman who claimed to be the famous actor Brad Pitt. The woman was convinced that she was in a love relationship with the Hollywood star, which is why she flew to the US, where she stayed for three weeks, waiting to meet him.
Brad Pitt/PHOTO: Profimedia
The woman (whom the journalists gave the name Patricia) said that she was convinced for months that she fell in love with the real Brad Pitt, writes the Daily Mail.
Patricia tells how after she started following the star’s Instagram account (although Brad Pitt doesn’t have an account on the social network), she received a message from someone claiming to be his manager.
“The Manager” asked Patricia if she wanted to speak to Brad Pitt himself, and she agreed.
“At first we were talking normally, like two people who have just met, very delicately”says the pensioner.
Over time, they started talking more often, and at one point the scammer behind the account confessed his love for Patricia.
“I’ve never talked to an actor before. I sent him $30,000, then another $20,000.”
Invited to the show Mise Au Point, she explained: “He would ask me a lot of questions about how I feel, what I like, how I see life, and one day he lets me know that he’s in love with me.”
The scammer also asked her to keep their relationship a secret. He sent her affectionate messages, including one that read: “My love, you are everything to me, now and forever.”
Patricia said she got caught up in the story: “This is a real relationship that develops, so I just got carried away by this feeling of love.”
The scam escalated when they started discussing the date.
Fake Brad Pitt claimed he needed money to make the meeting possible, writing to her: “Honey, my management wants $50,000.”
He told her that this was standard fare for anyone who wanted to spend time with him.
At first, she refused, but then convinced herself that it might be true.
“I thought, ‘Well, maybe that’s just the way things are… I’ve never talked to an actor before.'” I sent him $30,000, then another $20,000. the woman stated.
When the real Brad Pitt appeared at the Venice Film Festival that summer, Patricia hoped her dream would come true. He packed his bags, waiting for instructions to join her, but he never called her.
Instead, he sent her flowers and a message: “I love you so much baby. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Pitt.”
After the first payments, it became increasingly difficult for him to withdraw. The scammer asked her for $10,000 for alleged medical expenses, then another $10,000.
Patricia said she was overwhelmed with stress but kept paying because she believed he loved her.
It was then suggested that she meet him in the US. Patricia booked a flight to Los Angeles, convinced that she would finally meet her partner.
Still, she spent three weeks alone in a hotel, drinking cocktails and waiting. He never met him and sent another $20,000 before returning home.
Back in Switzerland, he came across a news story about a French woman who had lost 830,000 euros to another scammer who claimed to be Brad Pitt. Patricia said it was only then that she realized the truth, after seeing the similarities between their stories.
Finally, she went to the police to file a formal complaint. He said: “When I got there and said, ‘I think I’ve been scammed,’ I couldn’t even pronounce the name Brad Pitt.”
When asked how much she lost, she told police she gave “almost 100,000 francs”.
Although she is now trying to rebuild her life, she says the emotional damage is severe.
“It’s an indescribable shame. I know I lived for almost a year in a relationship that didn’t exist. You wonder, ‘How could I be so easily manipulated?'”
A French woman, left without 830,000 euros and destroyed her marriage
The case that Patricia said she saw on the news is that of a French woman who lost hundreds of thousands of euros and destroyed her marriage. She spoke with the alleged “brad pitt” for a year, during which he complained that he was ill and urgently needed money.
The scammer faked several pictures of the Hollywood actor, making it look like he was in hospital, and said his divorce from Angelina Jolie had left him without his fortune, precisely to convince her to send him money for “operation”.
The 53-year-old victim transferred 830,000 euros to the fraudster in an account in Turkey.
“I have not cheated on my husband in my life, because in fact I am a loyal woman, I am not crazy, as some people write on social networks. I just wanted to help one person”she said.
The two have been talking on social media since 2023. The woman sent him poems, love songs and even a marriage proposal.
“If you were in my place, you would also fall into the trap. If someone comes and talks to you kindly, says words that you have not even heard from your own husband, beware. Well yes, yes, you will fall, you will fall”she says.
The story also reached the ears of Brad Pitt’s team, who sent a message warning netizens about such scams
“It’s appalling that scammers are taking advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities. This is an important warning not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who don’t have a social media presence.” Brad Pitt said.
