“Who are any of these people” - Virgin River fan conned out of $375K by fake Martin Henderson faces mockery online

A New Zealand woman, Lea, says she was scammed out of $375,000 by an impersonator pretending to be Virgin River actor Martin Henderson. The 47-year-old victim said she had been communicating with the scammer for two years.

The New Zealand Herald reports Lea's communication with the scammer started after she posted a message on a Virgin River fan group. Lea claims that after being approached by someone imitating Henderson's representative, they communicated directly using WeChat and Telegram.

According to reports, the con artist employed artificial intelligence (AI) to create audio messages in Henderson's voice to gain Lea's trust and make the impersonation seem more authentic.

In the meantime, social media users are completely surprised at the incident.

One X (formerly Twitter) user mockingly stated:

"Literally who are any of these people."

Another user mentioned:

"Ignoring all the warnings and still sending $375K is insane 😭"

Another user added:

"How do you send money to someone you never met in real life 💀"

A comment read:

"Imagine falling for scams in 2025 💀"

A user went on to state:

"For $375K, she could’ve produced her own season of Virgin River—with the real Martin Henderson."

Meanwhile, a user quipped:

"Imagine explaining to your bank that you sent $375K to ‘NotTheRealMartinHenderson123"

---

Fake Martin Henderson scam

According to reports, the scammer asked Lea for money, saying his accounts were frozen and he needed cash to escape Hollywood and live a peaceful life with her in New Zealand. They even had a pre-wedding and three children planned.

The scam was a series of money requests, starting with a request for $30,000 for a private jet flight that was then canceled. Later, Lea paid $10,000 for bail, $500 for a commercial flight, and $12,000 in gift cards. She also made several Bitcoin payments of $500 each.

Also, Lea paid $56,000 to send a box from New Zealand to China, which she believed had work contracts, a diamond ring, Rolex watches, and $148,000 inside, but the box never existed. As a result of the scam, Lea took out a loan and charged up a credit card with a limit of $85,000.

Her bank shut down an 18-year account that she had after flagging recent transactions as potential money laundering.

Henderson had previously warned fans about scammers in an Instagram post in March 2024, stating that he only uses that platform and does not message individuals on other social media. He told fans to report anyone who claims to be him. However, the scammer fooled Lea that Henderson's warning did not apply to their relationship.

According to The New Zealand Herald, the woman only realized she was being scammed when she came across an article that stated the actor was in Matakana at an event.

Speaking with the news agency, she said:

"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?"

Reportedly, the scammer had told her that he encountered a medical emergency while shooting in South Africa.

“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.”

This case is similar to a French woman who lost $859,000 to a scammer who employed AI-generated photos of Brad Pitt. In that case, the scammer also claimed to have a romantic relationship and asked for money to cover cancer treatment.