An online imposter masquerading as a celebrity has conned a 47-year-old woman who goes by Lea out of a fortune. The catfish led her to believe she was romantically involved with actor Martin Henderson, who stars as Jack Sheridan on Netflix's hit series Virgin River. Over two years, Lea was duped into moving to New Zealand, Henderson's homeland, to be near him, convinced they would marry and start a family together.
Her suspicions were aroused when a supposed rendezvous at Auckland Airport on New Year's Eve fell through, with "Martin" claiming a health emergency in South Africa. But Lea grew skeptical after seeing an article showing Henderson healthy at a charity event in Matakana, South Africa, on the same day. Speaking with The New Zealand Herald, a distraught Lea recounted: "I thought, 'What is Martin doing in New Zealand in Matakana on a bike rally when he told me he was lying in a hospital bed in Johannesburg after a mild heart attack?'".
She lamented further to The New Zealand Herald: "My head is all over the place and I felt very foolish having opened my heart. I was severely manipulated during some very traumatic events in my life", reports the Mirror US. Lea first encountered the catfish two years ago when she posted on a fan page for Virgin River. She received a message from someone purporting to be Martin's agent, claiming that Martin liked Lea's comments and wanted to chat with her.
The pair reportedly hit it off, discussing favourite foods and shared interests. Shortly after this, the real Martin warned his fans about scammers and catfishes on fan pages via an Instagram post. However, the fake Martin fed Lea alleged personal details and even used Artificial Intelligence to leave voicemails mimicking Martin's voice. During the scam, Lea handed over $30,000 to the imposter Martin for supposed private jet use.
