A 53-year-old woman from France, identified as Anne, claims she was deceived into sending €830,000 (£697,000) to a man she believed to be Brad Pitt, under the pretense of supporting his ‘cancer treatment’.
The interior designer shared her story with French channel TF1, explaining that the scam began when she received a message on social media from someone claiming to be the actor’s mother after posting pictures of her luxurious ski trip to Tignes on Instagram. Anne revealed she was going through a rough patch with her husband at the time and felt comfortable confiding in the person.
She told TF1, “At first, I thought it was fake, but I didn’t understand what was happening to me. Over time, we started communicating daily and became friends.” She added, “There are so few men who write such things to you. I liked the person I was talking to. He knew exactly how to talk to women—it was always very flattering.”
The fraudulent account claimed the actor couldn’t afford the cancer treatment due to an ongoing divorce from Angelina Jolie, which was settled in December 2024. The scammer sent AI-generated photos of the actor in a hospital, holding cards with personalized messages, and refused to speak over the phone, citing being “too busy.”
After months of communication, Anne agreed to marry the person behind the account once she received €775,000 (£652,310) from her divorce. It remains unclear whether she has been able to recover any of the money nearly two years after the relationship began.
BFMTV reports that Anne is currently hospitalized in a clinic, suffering from severe depression.
