Virgin River Fan Scammed Out of $375K by Fake Martin Henderson: “He told me he wanted to leave the acting world”

A devoted Virgin River fan lost a staggering $375,000 over two years after being tricked into believing she was in a relationship with actor Martin Henderson, who plays Jack Sheridan on the Netflix series.

According to the New Zealand Herald, the woman—identified only as Lea—took out loans to cover extravagant costs, including a private jet, fake flights, Bitcoin transfers, and gift cards. She even moved from the U.S. to New Zealand, convinced that she was starting a new life with the actor.

Lea only realized she was being scammed after a friend noticed an article about Henderson participating in a cycling event in Matakana. “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 said.

The deception began when Lea interacted with a Virgin River Facebook fan page. She explained, “I left a message and received a response from his agent, saying Martin liked my comments and wanted to talk to me. We hit it off immediately and talked about favorite foods and common interests.”

Their conversations took place on WeChat and Telegram. Despite Martin Henderson previously warning fans about online impersonators, Lea admitted she was “too invested” to pay attention to the red flags. At one point, the scammer even sent her AI-altered voice messages, making her believe she was speaking with the real Henderson.

Over time, the fake Martin Henderson fed her countless excuses to request money—claiming issues with corrupt employers, frozen bank accounts, and his desire to leave Hollywood for a “simpler” life. “He told me he wanted to leave the acting world and live a quiet life in New Zealand with me – we planned marriage and three children,” Lea said.

The scammer manipulated Lea into sending large sums of money for various fake emergencies. She wired $30,000 for a private jet to fly him out of South Africa, but he claimed the flight was canceled because he was “thrown in jail for breaking his contract.” That led to another $10,000 for bail and $5,000 for a commercial flight.

Lea also sent $12,000 for gift cards, multiple Bitcoin transfers of $5,000 each, and paid for 25 MacBooks to help “set up a new business.” On top of that, she covered shipping costs for a supposed package containing “work contracts, a diamond ring, Rolex watches, $148,000 in US cash, and a valuable Netflix-ready biography of Henderson’s life.” She even spent $56,000 on fake invoices and racked up $85,000 in loans across multiple Best Buy credit cards.

When Lea started running out of money and told the scammer she could only afford an economy ticket, he suddenly faked having a “mild heart attack.”

“My head is all over the place and I felt very foolish having opened my heart,” Lea admitted. “I was severely manipulated during some very traumatic events in my life.”

Eventually, fraud specialists flagged her transactions as potential “money laundering,” leading to her bank account of 18 years being shut down. She is now seeking support to recover from both the financial and emotional damage caused by the scam.

This is not the first such incident in recent times. Katherine Goodson, a 67-year-old woman sent thousands of dollars to scammers pretending to be actor Keanu Reeves. In Europe, a French woman was scammed by a Brad Pitt impersonator. Anne, a 54-year-old was scammed out of €830,000 by someone posing as Brad Pitt. She is preparing her counterattack with the help of Marwan Ouarab, founder of the website “Find My Scammer.

It’s unknown whether those incidents are connected.

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