Ben Pawlowski
POLICE in Spain have arrested a gang of five people accused of posing as the acclaimed movie star Brad Pitt in order to swindle hundreds of thousands of euros out of two unsuspecting female victims.
The suspects made contact with the victims on an internet fan page for the two-time Oscar-winning actor, who has twice been named as the sexiest man alive.
The Guardia Civil said in a statement that the alleged conmen pretended to be the Hollywood heartthrob, leading the two women to believe ‘they had a sentimental relationship with him’.
The gang members then encouraged the women – one from Granada, Andalucia and one from Bizikia, Basque Country – to invest hundreds of thousands of euros into projects that did not exist.
The women were defrauded of €175,000 and €150,000 respectively.
“The cybercriminals, to capture the victims, had studied their social networks and made psychological profiles of them, thus discovering that both women were two vulnerable people, lacking in affection and in a state of depression”, police said.
They added: “They also used instant messaging platforms to exchange messages and emails with the two women until they reached a point where they believed they were chatting via WhatsApp with Brad Pitt himself, who promised them a romantic relationship and a future together”.
Police arrested the gang of five in Andalucia following a sophisticated operation which involved officers raiding five homes and seizing several mobile phones, bank cards, computers and a diary which provided evidence for the arrest.
One of the handwritten letters used to con the women read: “My love for you is true. Feeling from my heart and forever, please forgive me and accept me…it is because I love you and am very much in love with you”.
During the course of the investigation, officers were able to recover €85,000 of the total money stolen.
