Brad Pitt
Daniele Venturelli/WireImageFrench woman reportedly handed over more than $800,000 to scammers after being tricked into believing she was dating Brad Pitt.
Led to believe that Brad, 61, needed funds to pay for kidney treatment, the 53-year-old woman, identified as Anne, allegedly told French broadcaster TF1 about her ordeal. (The original interview was removed on Tuesday, January 14 due to the online harassment Anne was subjected to, however, French news outlets AFP and BFM TV reported the fraud as well as the subsequent cyberbullying.)
According to BFM TVinterior designer Ann was recently interviewed on TF1’s Seven to eightwhere she explained that in February 2023. she was contacted by a person claiming to be Brad’s mother, Jane Pitt. Anne was on a ski trip in Tines, France, and was posting pictures of the trip via Instagram when she was contacted by a so-called Jane.
The publication reported that the next day, Ann discovered that Jane’s account was “apparently linked to the actor” and that scammers posing as Brad told Ann that “his mother has been talking … a lot about her.”
Brad Pitt’s rep is setting a record for the actor’s social media presence after Spanish police arrested five people who allegedly impersonated Pitt online. “It’s terrible that scammers are taking advantage of fans’ strong connection to celebrities,” Pete’s publicist Matthew Hilzik told Us Weekly in a statement on Wednesday, Sept. 25. “And this is important (…)
The relationship developed rapidly and Anne, who was said to be married at the time, reportedly received “verses and numerous declarations” afterwards. Ann reportedly told TF1: “There are so few men who write you such things. I liked the person I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women, he always did it very well.
AI-generated videos, fake social media and WhatsApp accounts were used by the scammers to support the trick, and alleged examples of these efforts were published via X and included in BFM TVreport of.
According to BFM TVAnne told TF1, “At first I was like, it’s fake, it’s ridiculous. But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.
As Anne’s confidence grows, she sends almost €10,000 to the scammers after they tell her that customs tariffs require payment in order for gifts to be sent to her.
Anne then allegedly informed the criminals that she had divorced her husband and followed up her initial transfer with another totaling just under €775,000 – almost the full amount of her divorce settlement.
The second transfer is said to have come about as a result of Ann being told that ‘Pete’ had kidney cancer and needed financial help as his accounts were frozen while divorce proceedings were pending with his real-life ex Pete Angelina Jolie took place.
British newspaper The Times reported that TF1 removed the original news article to protect Ann from a “wave of harassment” received online after she published her story.
Battle of the Exes. Brad Pitt filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Angelina Jolie in February 2022, alleging that she illegally sold her shares in Miraval, a French company that included a chateau and vineyard that the former couple purchased together in the south of France. The stars of Mr and Mrs Smith first gained control (…)
Anne is said to have filed a lawsuit and a police investigation has been launched, according to multiple outlets.
This isn’t the first time Brad has been criminally profiled online. PR of the actor Matthew Hilzik said Us Weekly in a statement on September 25, 2024 that “It’s terrible that scammers can take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” after Spanish police arrested five people for acting like brad.
The September ordeal saw two women defrauded of at least $350,000.
