Two people were arrested for impersonating Brad Pitt and defrauding two women of $350,000

Fraud knows no borders. Recently, five people were arrested for defrauding women of money by posing as popular Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. Spanish authorities announced that five people were arrested this year on suspicion of fraud and money laundering after posing as Brad Pitt online. They defrauded two women of over $350,000.

The Spanish Interior Minister announced this on September 23, saying that there were three arrests in November last year and two in July.

A New York Times article states: “The defendant had contacted the women through an Internet fan page dedicated to Mr. Pitt, posing as the Oscar-winning American actor. Authorities said the defendants then exchanged instant messages and emails with their victims, who thought they were corresponding directly with Mr. Pitt.”

The online scammers “managed to trick these women into believing that they had become so close to the well-known American actor that they believed they were in a romantic relationship with him.”

After making them believe they were in love with Brad, they asked for money. One woman sent them about $168,000, another about $195,500. So far, the investigation has only managed to recover $94,000.

After the news came to light, Brad Pitt's publicist Matthew Hiltzik issued a statement to The Times, saying: “It's terrible that scammers take advantage of fans' strong connection to celebrities. But this is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online contact, especially from actors who do not have a social media presence.”

Brad Pitt is purely offline and does not have any official social media accounts on platforms like Instagram, X or others.