Woman Who Sent Large Sums to Fake “Brad Pitt” Sues, Saying “Banks Are Also Responsible”

French Woman Sues Banks
"Sent Huge Sums to Impostor... Why Didn't the Banks Suspect Anything?"

A French woman who lost a large sum of money after being deceived by a scammer impersonating famous American actor Brad Pitt has decided to file lawsuits against several banks. She claims the banks are at fault for approving transfers even though the remittance memos were clearly suspicious.

In a case in which a victim was defrauded by scammers impersonating Hollywood actor Pitt Brad, this is a photo the impostor sent to the victim, demanding money by claiming they had kidney cancer and needed funds for treatment. Screenshot from X (formerly Twitter).

According to French broadcaster BFM TV on February 13 (local time), a woman in her 50s identified as Ms. A, who lives in the French overseas territory of Reunion, plans to seek damages, arguing that the banks are responsible for allowing suspicious transfer transactions to go through. She claims the banks approved the transfers without raising any doubts, even though the remittance memos contained strange descriptions such as "William Bradley Pitt (Brad Pitt's real name) surgery" and "William Bradley Pitt kidney transplant." She said, "The banks must be held accountable," adding, "There are loopholes in the system, and this must never happen again."

In 2023, Ms. A exchanged messages on Instagram with someone who introduced himself as Brad Pitt. She even went so far as to get a divorce after falling for the advances of the fake Brad Pitt, whom she had never met in person. The scammer impersonating Brad Pitt learned that Ms. A had received a large divorce settlement and demanded money under various pretexts, claiming he needed hospital treatment. Over the course of several months, Ms. A transferred 830,000 euros (about 1.2 billion won).

It was only in the summer of 2024, after seeing a photo of the "real" Brad Pitt with his girlfriend, that Ms. A realized she had been scammed and filed a complaint against the fraudster.

Famous American film actor Pitt Brad. DPA Yonhap News

Brad Pitt's side said in early 2025, when the story became public, "It is terrible that scammers exploit the strong bond between fans and celebrities," and urged people to be cautious.