Alexa Bliss has been absent from WWE television since announcing her pregnancy last year, but her time away has unfortunately led to fake accounts using her name to scam people. In a tragic incident, one such scammer posed as Bliss to deceive an elderly man, ultimately stealing nearly $1 million from his life savings and his granddaughter’s college fund.
The New York Times reported that 79-year-old Alfred Mancinelli fell victim to a scammer pretending to be Alexa Bliss, who took a substantial amount of his retirement funds, along with his granddaughter’s college savings. After Alfred passed away over the summer, his son, Chris, discovered a family photo on Alfred’s refrigerator that included Bliss, revealing Alfred believed he was in a romantic relationship with her. This belief led him to give large sums to the scammer, along with others posing as people in need.
In an attempt to protect his father’s remaining funds, Chris moved the last $100,000 into a secure account. However, Alfred, convinced of his relationship with Bliss, took legal action against Chris, claiming he was entitled to the funds. Bliss has since advised her fans via social media to avoid sending money to anyone claiming to be her.
Before being scammed by the Bliss impersonator, Alfred had sent money to other supposed acquaintances online, including one named “Kate,” who claimed her daughter was sick, and another named “Anna,” who allegedly needed funds for sick children. Over time, these scams diminished Alfred’s savings from $900,000 to just $128,000.
The fake “Alexa Bliss” crafted stories involving figures like Vince McMahon and claimed to need funds for urgent medical treatments, such as a fabricated hospital stay for severe menstrual pain. Although the scammers never connected with Alfred by video or audio, they manipulated him with small gifts and even sent him pizza for his birthday.
Chris later discovered that two devices from Nigeria were connected to Alfred’s Google account, confirming the scam’s international origins. Despite setting up a trust to manage Alfred’s money, he ultimately safeguarded the remaining $100,000 after it was clear Alfred would continue sending money to scammers. Alfred responded by suing Chris for the money, and after receiving it, the funds were gone within a month.
Chris believes that if his father hadn’t passed away, he would have continued falling victim to these scams. Alfred had even considered selling his house and had taken out loans using personal belongings as collateral. The scammers went so far as to threaten Chris and sent Alfred’s youngest granddaughter pictures of her grandfather, demanding gift cards.
Alfred’s granddaughters were aware he was being scammed, but unfortunately, he passed away following surgery on his neck after a fall. Chris noted that his father was deeply stressed, continually searching for ways to send more money to the scammers.
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