The victim believed he was speaking to the Hollywood actor and transferred approximately BRL 208,000 to the scammer
A 61-year-old woman suffered a loss of over R $ 200,000 after falling in love with a “fake Johnny Depp” she met on social networks. As established by Terra, the scammer, posing as the Hollywood actor, claimed that he needed the money to pay the sentences in which he was a defendant. The scam is known as “catfishing”.
The victim, who is retired and lives in Osasco, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, says he started talking to a person who claimed to be the actor in October 2020. The content of the conversations, according to her, was about ” daily chores “, until a ‘love story’ began, amid the swindler’s promises that he would take the victim to live with him in Los Angeles.
However, according to the victim’s lawyer, the scammer began to tell a “sad story of needing money to pay his sentences in cases he was involved in”.
In the trial, the victim also reported selling a car and a house to help the fake Johnny Depp, as well as undergoing plastic surgery, believing he would be living with the actor in the United States.
Three deposits, in the amount of BRL 15,000, BRL 40,400 and BRL 153,000, were made with Banco do Brasil to an account that the scammer claimed was from a “Brazilian friend of his lawyer”.
Also according to the report to the Justice, the retiree’s talks with the criminal ended only because the victim’s son became aware of the coup.
The old woman sued Banco do Brasil, arguing that “the account to which the amounts were transferred was opened fraudulently, facilitating the use by third parties to inflict the blow that the perpetrator suffered” . According to the victim, “there would have been obvious negligence on part of the bank”.
In its defense, the institute said that the author “transferred the amounts of his own free will, without interference from the bank”. The judge in charge of the case dismissed the charge against Banco do Brasil, but the victim can still appeal.
legal dispute
The coup took place amid a legal dispute between Depp and his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, who accused him of domestic violence. Last June, the court found that Heard had defamed her ex-husband in an article published in the Washington Post.
She was ordered to pay more than $ 10 million (approximately R $ 49 million) in damages. Depp was also sentenced to pay Amber $ 2 million (R $ 9.5 million) for defaming her through her lawyer.
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Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
