(CNN) – Police in Spain have arrested five people accused of scamming two women out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by pretending to be Brad Pitt online.
Spanish police say 10 other people were also investigated as part of “Operation Bralina,” which spanned eight provinces. One woman lost nearly $200,000 to the alleged fraudsters while another lost $167,000.
Police say both victims were contacted through a Brad Pitt fan site by people who managed to convince them the Hollywood star wanted to invest in various projects with them. They also got the women to believe Pitt himself was chatting with them on WhatsApp, promising them a romantic relationship and future together.
The women made numerous bank transfers to the person they thought was Pitt until they realized they’d been scammed and went to the police.
Police were able to recover nearly $100,000.
Investigators say a network of bank accounts were created using fake identity documents. They say “mules” were used to help launder money through their own bank accounts in exchange for a small payment.
Pitt’s publicist says the actor is not online and does not have a social media account.
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