In a shocking case of deception, another unsuspecting individual has fallen victim to the online catfish phenomenon, this time with a scammer impersonating none other than celebrity Martin Henderson of ‘s Virgin River fame.
A 47-year-old woman who wants to be known only as Lea was duped into believing she was involved romantically with the actor, who is known for his role as Jack Sheridan.
For more than two years, Lea was under the impression that she was communicating with the 50-year-old New Zealand actor and even relocated to his homeland last year, dreaming of a future where they would tie the knot and start a family.
It wasn’t until a major red flag appeared that Lea’s suspicions were aroused.
The alarm bells rang when Lea had plans to collect Martin from Auckland Airport on New Year’s Eve, as relayed in an interview with The New Zealand Herald.
Virgin River fan swindled out of thousands by fake Martin Henderson (Image: Netflix)
Instead, she received a message from the man she thought was Martin, claiming he had suffered a health emergency while filming in South Africa.
Fuelled by her doubts, Lea’s conviction in the relationship’s authenticity was dealt a significant blow when a friend showed her an article from the same day.
It featured Martin helping fundraise for a bicycle path in Matakana, South Africa, looking the picture of health — far from a hospital bed in Johannesburg recovering from a mild heart attack.
Devastated by the betrayal, Lea confided to The New Zealand Herald: “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 added, grappling with the aftermath: “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.”
Lea’s encounter with the catfish began two years ago when she posted on a Virgin River fan page.
The woman was convinced she was in a relationship with Martin Henderson (Image: NETFLIX)
She received a message from an individual purporting to be Martin’s agent, who claimed that Martin had taken a liking to Lea’s comments and wished to converse with her.
The pair reportedly hit it off, discussing favourite foods and shared interests.
However, shortly after this, the real Martin issued a warning on his about scammers and catfish lurking on fan pages, urging his followers to remain vigilant.
Despite this, the fraudulent Martin continued to deceive Lea, sharing supposed personal details and even utilising Artificial Intelligence to mimic Martin’s voice in voicemail messages.
She lost $375,000 to the scammer (Image: NETFLIX)
Throughout the course of the scam, Lea handed over $30,000 to the imposter for alleged private jet use, paid $10,000 to bail him out of jail, and purchased 25 new Macbooks for him to “set up a new business”.
In total, she was conned out of more than $375,000 by the fake Martin.
Martin Henderson’s representatives have been approached for comment.
Virgin River is available to stream on .