French woman scammed out of €830,000 by AI-generated Brad Pitt impersonator in elaborate romance fraud

The elaborate scheme lasted over 18 months, during which the victim believed she was in a romantic relationship with the actor.

The scam began when the woman received a message from an account claiming to be Brad Pitt’s mother, Jane Etta Pitt. The message stated that she was "exactly the woman her son needed." Soon after, she was contacted by the AI-generated Brad Pitt, who expressed interest in getting to know her.

Over the next year and a half, the impersonator sent her poems, declarations of love, and even proposed marriage. Speaking to French media, the interior designer said: “I loved the man I was talking to. He knew how to talk to women and it was very well put together.”

The scammers initially asked the woman to cover customs fees for supposed gifts, such as luxurious handbags, with the first payment amounting to €9,000. Later, the fake Brad Pitt claimed to be hospitalised with kidney cancer and in need of money for treatment.

The impersonator further alleged that his ex-wife Angelina Jolie had frozen his bank accounts, leaving him unable to access his fortune. To lend credibility, an individual posing as Pitt’s “doctor” emailed the woman, insisting he was gravely ill. Convinced, she transferred approximately €800,000 to an account in Turkey.

“We’re talking about Brad Pitt here, and I was stunned,” she explained. “At first, I thought it was fake, but I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”

The woman’s daughter repeatedly warned her that she was being conned, but she dismissed the concerns, saying: “You’ll see when he’s here in person, then you’ll say sorry.” However, she realised the truth in the summer of 2024 when the real Brad Pitt was publicly seen with his partner, Inès de Ramon.

The ordeal left the woman hospitalised with depression, and she has since opened up about the scam to French media. She shared her story with broadcaster TF1 but later requested the interview be taken down after she was subjected to cyberbullying.