ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Someone pretending as Brad Pitt conned two women out of $360,000, promised a 'great future together'

Following the incident, Brad Pitt's representative has issued a warning to all fans.
PUBLISHED OCT 1, 2024
Cover image source:  (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Cover image source: (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

In the Brad Pitt’s imposter case, the Spanish police have arrested five people accused of scamming two women out of 325,000 euros or ~$362,000. The group pretended to be the Hollywood star and made false romantic promises to extract payments from the victims, according to a statement from the Guardia Civil. Apart from the five accused, the police also investigated 10 other people, across eight provinces as part of Operation Bralina. 



 

According to the investigation, the accused contacted the victims through an online fan page dedicated to Pitt. They posed as the Oscar-winning actor and conned women into chatting with them on instant messaging platforms and via emails. The New York Times reported that the fraudsters managed to convince the women that the actor wanted to invest in various projects with them. 

Brad Pitt attends the premiere of 20th Century Fox's
Brad Pitt attends the premiere of 20th Century Fox's "Ad Astra" | Getty Images | Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer

They also convinced the women that it was Pitt himself who was chatting with them on WhatsApp and promising a romantic relationship and a great future together. 

“My love for you is true. Feeling from my heart and forever, please forgive me and accept me," one handwritten letter that was found during the search of the criminals' property read, as per the Times of London.



 

The police further stated that the cyber criminals carefully picked out their victims by studying their social media accounts. They put together a psychological profile of them and determined that the two victims in particular were vulnerable and "suffering from depression and a lack of affection.'

Eventually, the imposters started asking the victims to make payments to take their projects ahead. As a result, both women made numerous payments to the person they thought was Pitt. When they realized that they were being scammed they reported to the police.

One woman, who is a resident of Bilbao in the north of Spain, sent 150,000 euros, or about $167,000 in a series of bank transfers. The second victim from Granada sent 175,000 euros or about $195,000, as per The Times. 

Out of the total, the police have managed to recover only about 85,000 euros (~$95,000), the statement said. Investigators also found that a network of bank accounts were created using fake IDs and 'mules' were used to help launder the money in exchange for a small payment. 

Representative image | Getty Images | Stock Photo
Representative image | Getty Images | Stock Photo

The suspects, whose names have not been released, now face charges of fraud and money laundering, as per the Spanish police. Reflecting on the scam, Pitt’s publicist Matthew Hiltzik issued a statement to The Times.  “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities. But this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach," the Hiltzik said.



 

The publicist emphasized that people shouldn't respond to people pretending to be actors who are known to have no social media presence. In this case, Pitt is one such actor who remains to be offline without any social media presence. 

Romance scams involving fake celebrity profiles have cost thousands of people across the globe. These scams are often aided by AI tools that make them appear more convincing. Last year, American consumers lost a whopping $1.14 billion to general romance scams according to the Federal Trade Commission.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
Dwyane 'the Rock' Johnson said that his friend's actions changed the course of his life.
2 hours ago
The Texas inventor pitched a generator named after him on the third season of Shark Tank.
18 hours ago
Despite putting the contestant in an awkward position the host did get the audience to laugh.
1 day ago
Although fans have admired his energy on the episode for years, Paul revealed why he wasn't too happy.
1 day ago
It took more than a decade and an amazing invention for Les Cookson to secure a deal on Shark Tank.
1 day ago
The contestant was also defended by some who said they would've made the same mistake.
2 days ago
While the item received a record-breaking appraisal, a flaw prevented its value from going higher.
2 days ago
She has starred in classic films such as "Sixteen Candles", "The Lost Boys", and "Twister".
2 days ago
What is Judy Sheindlin’s salary per episode? Here’s what we know about the TV judge and her new IMDb TV show, ‘Judy Justice.’
3 days ago
Sajak was criticized by fans on the internet but the contestant clarified that it was just for fun.
3 days ago
Danielle Perez had gone viral after talking about the awkward moment on "The Price is Right" on social media.
4 days ago
The singer also got Malone's number but is only focusing on sharing his work with him for now.
4 days ago
The incident did not bring down the woman's excitement as she kept jumping on stage.
4 days ago
The guest had no idea whose face was engraved on the top of the box and how much it cost.
5 days ago
The young entrepreneur saw a common problem kids his age faced and came up with an invention.
5 days ago
It was a gift from the father of his first client to whom he had sold a condo.
5 days ago
The singer wanted to celebrate his journey by sending fans to the place linked to his early days.
5 days ago
Wait till you hear the list of weird prizes that 'Price is Right' gave in the '50s.
6 days ago
The bottled water from the popular retailer has nanoplastic particles more than the firm's limits.
6 days ago
Most of the sharks had concerns about water pressure even though the product impressed them.
6 days ago