French Woman Scammed of £700,000 by AI Impersonating Brad Pitt, Turns Ordeal Into Book

According to Vanguard, Anne Deneuchatel, a 53-year-old French interior designer, was defrauded of more than £700,000 by Nigerian scammers who used artificial intelligence to impersonate Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. She has since chronicled her traumatic experience in a new book titled Je ne serai plus une proie (I Will No Longer Be a Prey).

In her memoir, Deneuchatel recounts how the scam began with a message on Instagram from someone claiming to be Brad Pitt’s mother. Shortly afterward, she was introduced to an AI-generated version of the actor via Telegram. Lonely and trapped in what she described as a loveless marriage to a “selfish and manipulative millionaire businessman,” she quickly developed a strong emotional bond with the fake “Brad.”

The impostors exploited her vulnerability, gradually persuading her to send money under various pretexts. Reflecting on her state of mind at the time, Deneuchatel told Le Monde:

“My husband had put me in a bind. He said I should be content to be a trophy. I no longer had any independence. At one point, it seemed easier to help ‘Brad’ than to help myself.”


Over time, her savings were wiped out. The breaking point came when the fraudster demanded £13,000 for a supposed private jet trip. Feeling emotionally drained and alone, she finally reported the scam to the police.

Despite the devastating financial loss, Deneuchatel said the experience had one unexpected outcome: the collapse of her toxic marriage. “It’s the only positive thing to come out of the scam,” she admitted.

Today, she shares her story as a warning against online fraud, emphasizing the psychological manipulation behind such scams and the ease with which technology can be weaponized to exploit human emotions.