Love, Janessa | Episode 1: From My World to Yours

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Love, Janessa | Episode 1: From My World to Yours"

Introduction

In the first episode of Love, Janessa, titled "From My World to Yours," listeners are plunged into the intricate web of online deception orchestrated by Kaitlyn Braun. Hosted by Hannah Ajala and produced by CBC and BBC World Service, this episode explores the nuanced dynamics of catfishing, delving into the personal journey of Simon de Brasil—a seasoned journalist—who becomes ensnared in a sophisticated scam involving dozens of fraudulent identities under the guise of a woman named Janessa Brazil.

Background of the Story

The episode opens with Kathleen Goldhar setting the stage for a unique true-crime narrative. Unlike typical scam stories, Kaitlyn Braun's cons are multifaceted, involving emotional manipulation, financial deceit, and personal tragedy. Over two years, Braun deceived more than 50 birth workers by pretending to be a pregnant woman facing escalating personal crises, including rape, baby loss, and coma. This elaborate façade not only manipulated emotions but also raised profound ethical questions about trust and vulnerability in the digital age.

Simon de Brasil’s Encounter with Janessa

Simon de Brasil, a journalist with an impressive career covering historical events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the discovery of Otzi the Iceman, recounts his unexpected foray into online fraud. Living between London and Lagos, Nigeria, Simon's professional life took a personal turn on New Year's Eve 2018. Receiving a seemingly innocuous compliment on his photography from a Twitter account named "Shrilly," he engaged in what appeared to be a genuine online friendship.

"I'd seen them and she wrote how nice it was to see someone taking proper pictures, proper black and white pictures with film," [06:02] Hannah Ajala narrates.

As their conversations continued, Shirley—later revealed as Janessa Brazil—shared a tumultuous backstory filled with personal tragedies and professional upheavals. Her narrative was compelling, painting a picture of a resilient woman striving to support her family amidst adversity.

Unraveling the Fraud

Despite the seemingly authentic connection, inconsistencies began to surface. Requests for money, such as assistance with buying a car or covering medical expenses, raised red flags. Simon's investigative instincts led him to perform a reverse image search of Shirley's profile pictures, uncovering that Janessa Brazil's images were extensively used across the internet—over 100,000 fake profiles hosted them, turning her into the most impersonated person globally.

"It's hard to measure if 100,000 fake profiles is actually an accurate number," [13:44] Simon de Brasil explains.

Delving deeper, Simon discovered that Janessa Brazil was not only a popular figure on mainstream platforms but also on adult websites, further complicating the narrative. The revelation that millions had fallen victim to these scams, leading to substantial financial losses and personal devastation, underscored the scale of the deception.

Determined to expose the truth, Simon began contacting various accounts using Janessa's images, only to find himself entangled in a maze of lies and manipulated emotions. His pursuit of the real Janessa led him to believe he had finally connected with her, only to be deceived once more by someone impersonating her.

"I now could find it on an estate agent's website. And it had interior shots of the house. And the furniture in the estate agent's shots was exactly the same as the ones in her glamour shots," [25:08] Simon recounts.

Despite mounting evidence of fraud, emotional appeals and fabricated crises from multiple Janessas kept Simon engaged, culminating in a failed attempt to transfer funds when PayPal flagged suspicious activities tied to Nigerian sources—a nod to the notorious 419 scams.

The Aftermath and Insights

Simon’s journey illuminates the profound impact of digital identity theft and the psychological manipulation inherent in catfishing schemes. His experience serves as a cautionary tale about the ease with which trust can be exploited online and the difficulty in discerning authenticity amidst the vast digital landscape.

"I can't stand these associations [with 419 scams]. It doesn't speak of the Africa I know," Simon reflects [20:56], highlighting the stigmatization often associated with online fraud originating from specific regions.

As the episode concludes, Simon remains committed to unraveling the mystery of Janessa Brazil, aiming to uncover the truth behind the stolen identity and the person at the center of this global scam.

Notable Quotes with Attribution

• Kathleen Goldhar [00:01]: "There is no shortage of scam artists in true crime, but I'm guessing you've never heard of one quite like Kaitlin Braun."

• Simon de Brasil [02:20]: "We're now decades into living our lives online, and anyone with an inbox has probably been pinged by a dodgy solicitation."

• Hannah Ajala [10:00]: "It was all perfectly innocuous until she asked me for a picture of my dick, which I found a little bit surprising."

• Simon de Brasil [12:41]: "Where are you actually, as a matter of interest?"

• Hannah Ajala [16:05]: "You used a fake identity, a false story and stolen photographs. Why the fuck should I give you anything at all?"

• Kathleen Goldhar [22:39]: "These attackers have no fear. They would have killed me had they found out."

• Hannah Ajala [29:31]: "I was feeling really bad that it was possible this person, whether or not it was Janessa, actually hadn't had anything to eat because she was going on about it so much."

Conclusion

Love, Janessa masterfully navigates the complexities of online deception, shedding light on the personal and societal ramifications of identity theft. Through Simon de Brasil's investigative journey, the podcast not only exposes the mechanics of sophisticated scams but also humanizes the victims caught in their relentless grasp. This episode sets the stage for a gripping exploration of truth, trust, and the elusive nature of identity in the digital era.

Content Warning: This episode contains references to medical emergencies, baby loss, and sexual assault, along with strong language.

Transcript

[Kathleen Goldhar]

There is no shortage of scam artists in true crime, but I'm guessing you've never heard of one quite like Kaitlin braun. For over two years, Kaitlin Braun conned more than 50 birth workers into thinking that she was pregnant. I'm Kathleen Goldhar, and this week on Crime Story, I sit down with Sarah Trurlevin, the host of the Caitlyn's Baby Find Crime Story. Wherever you get your podcasts, a BBC World Service and CBC podcast production.

[Simon de Brasil]

Before we start, please note this series contains adult themes and strong language.

[Hannah Ajala]

So this was her initial message in this conversation. Okay, Me. You got me so worried as I keep thinking so much about you. I miss you so badly. I'd like to send you something for Valentine's Day. Maybe you could buy that car we talked about so we could take a drive along the coast. I would love that. Make sure it's a good one. Why am I sending money to Ghana anyway? That's in Africa, isn't it? You told me you're in Spain. I'm not really happy about sending $50,000 to Africa to buy a car. Her. Honey, trust me, as your wife as I won't disappoint you because I love you so much.

[Simon de Brasil]

So you probably think you know what's going on here. A fraudster is trying to con this guy by text message.

[Hannah Ajala]

Me. Okay, I trust you. But make sure it's got a warranty. Are you okay? I've been so worried about you since the operation.

[Simon de Brasil]

The person who's performing this dramatic reading of his texts is Simon de Brasil.

[Hannah Ajala]

Her. Ok, my love, I'm so happy. Me. Good. I can't wait to see you with your double D boobs. That's gonna be so much fun.

[Simon de Brasil]

You can tell he's been primed for a scam. The flattery, the money, the boob job.

[Hannah Ajala]

Her. I can't wait to kiss and make deep love to you all day. You are my king and goddess. I love you and I want to feel your sweet arms around me. You're getting me.

[Simon de Brasil]

We're now decades into living our lives online, and anyone with an inbox has probably been pinged by a dodgy solicitation. But even if online romance scams are totally recognizable with lines like you are my king and goddess, a shocking number of people keep getting pulled into them.

[Hannah Ajala]

Her. Honey, I wish you could assist me with some meds and foodstuffs. Okay, Me. But I gave you $5,000 only last week for your operation, remember? Then she sent me a picture of Janessa Topless in the bath. Obviously topless, because she's in the bathroom.

[Simon de Brasil]

A picture of a woman known online as Janessa Brazil. And it's a picture that he's seen before, because this isn't the romance scam you think it is. Simon isn't communicating with just one account, one potential con artist. He's chatting with dozens. And all of them are using the same photos, all of them claiming to be the same woman.

[Hannah Ajala]

This is Janessa. Isn't it her? This is Janessa, your wife.

[Simon de Brasil]

That's good, Simon, thank you.

[Hannah Ajala]

There's more, there's loads more.

[Simon de Brasil]

From CBC podcasts, hello, friends, and the BBC World Service. My name is Hannah Ajala and this is Love, Janessa. The story of my wild quest to find the woman whose face and body is the bait used in catfishing schemes around the world. Episode one, from my world to yours. When we talk, Simon is looking out the window of his country home. What he describes sounds like storybook England.

[Hannah Ajala]

I live in Wiltshire, which is very rural, on a sheep farm, in fact, surrounded by lots of sheep. And at the moment the lambs are just appearing. So there's lambs bouncing around in the fields.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon is a lot of impressive things. He's a journalist, a father to grown children. He collects antiques and does photography. He's had a long, notable career covering all kinds of stories, like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the discovery of Otzi the Iceman, a guy who was frozen inside an Italian glacier for 5,000 years.

[Hannah Ajala]

Where are you actually, as a matter of interest?

[Simon de Brasil]

Yeah, I'm in Lagos, Nigeria. This is where I spend a lot of my time actually working. We've BBC office.

[Hannah Ajala]

So have you got an apartment there or have you got somewhere to stay?

[Simon de Brasil]

But this story is different for Simon, more personal, a little delicate. It was New Year's Eve, 2018. Simon was getting ready to go out.

[Hannah Ajala]

Well, I got a notification that I'd been sent a message and I think it was on Twitter and it was from someone that I didn't know. But then I occasionally do get messages from people that I don't know.

[Simon de Brasil]

In this one, the message was a compliment. The writer admired some photos he'd posted.

[Hannah Ajala]

I'd seen them and she wrote how nice it was to see someone taking proper pictures, proper black and white pictures with film, because I still use film rather than digital, and sent me greetings, she said, from my part of the world to yours. It was nice. Seems kind of strange way of saying something, but wishing you all the best and your family all the best for The New Year. It was a woman who called herself Shirley, except it had been spelt Shrilly, which seemed a little strange.

[Simon de Brasil]

To clarify, her Twitter handle wasn't Shirley but Shrilly SHR I L E Y followed by a bunch of numbers.

[Hannah Ajala]

But anyway, I just reply, returning your greetings and wishing you a happy New Year. Where in the world are you? Because she'd said, I'm sending you greetings from my part of the world.

[Simon de Brasil]

After hitting send, Simon went to a party to ring in the New Year with friends. He got home after 2am and noticed a wham. Of new messages on his computer. Shirley wanted to get to know him better. She told him she was living in Flint. Flint, Wales? He wondered. Nope. Flint, Michigan in the us. Acute misunderstanding.

[Hannah Ajala]

And then having broken the ice like that, she was a little bit more forthcoming and told me that she'd been a TV presenter in Rio and had some difficult personal circumstances, had to leave the country and got recruited by a, I think it was a green energy company that she was representing in Michigan.

[Simon de Brasil]

They sent a few messages back and forth. The compliments about Simon's photography kept coming.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

That ain't small talent and I hope you know that people with this kinda gift are few in the world.

[Simon de Brasil]

So I can imagine that you probably had a look at the profile picture quite quickly.

[Hannah Ajala]

Yeah. And I mean, and she looked a perfectly respectable, well dressed, well presented young woman. And she said she had two children, so I imagine that she was probably in her late 20s or early 30s.

[Simon de Brasil]

I've seen pictures of the woman who reached out to Simon and while we're talking, I have a few of them open on my laptop. Here's what I see. A racially ambiguous, beautiful woman. Not the type that would need to wear a ton of makeup, dark hair and eyes. The gym is certainly her friend. Over the next few weeks, Shirley and Simon became digital pen pals. Her backstory was complex and stuffed with drama. Her father had been killed in a car accident. She'd had an affair with her manager who was a drunk and a drug addict. To get away from him, she up and left. Now she was living in Flint, Michigan, supporting her kids and mother in a six bedroom house. So many details, it was kind of dizzying.

[Hannah Ajala]

I just thought that we were having a conversation because I basically spent most of my life online because it was my job. I get literally sometimes 200 emails and messages a day. And so it was just something. It was nice to break it up from what my normal work routine was and because the time difference, a lot of it would arrive while I was asleep. So I'd find messages when I woke up in the morning and things. So it was quite nice to be able to have a communication with someone on the other side of the world who had an interesting story to tell.

[Simon de Brasil]

At the time, Simon was married. He was in his late 50s and didn't have a lot of first hand experience with online flirting. So when a certain type of message arrived, the kind that's not so novel to those of us who grew up online, he was thrown.

[Hannah Ajala]

It was all perfectly innocuous until she asked me for a picture of my dick, which I found a little bit surprising. And I did tell her that I would never ever consider sending anybody even if I knew them a picture like that. And asked her why she'd asked me and I mean, she didn't really answer that.

[Simon de Brasil]

Pretty quickly the exchanges spun out into other kinds of requests.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

I'll be going to make my hair and also do some few shopping next weekend and I'll love for you to pay for it if that's okay with you.

[Simon de Brasil]

It was not okay. Simon said no.

[Hannah Ajala]

And she then asked for I think $300. And I told her I wouldn't give it to her. She got quite abusive and I said, look, quite honestly, why would I send you $300?

[Simon de Brasil]

But wouldn't you possibly put it down to maybe like a cultural thing? Because I'm Nigerian and it's very normal in some cultures and traditions for men to fund the lifestyles of women.

[Hannah Ajala]

I did think that was a possibility. And she actually said that. She said men always fund their women. And I said, you're not my woman. So she has her own job, she's got her own career. I mean, why would I need to send money to someone that I don't know? And I didn't. But I mean the fact is at that point I realized that she was a scammer and that she was trying to get me to send her money. And she probably wasn't even in Flint, Michigan. She might well be in anywhere in the world.

[Simon de Brasil]

So Simon put on his journalist hat. He ran Shirley's profile pictures through a reverse image search engine. It's a kind of matching software that locates the same image on other websites.

[Hannah Ajala]

If there are other copies on the Internet, it will find them and tell you where, where they're from. And each one I put in came back with this name. Janessa Brazil.

[Simon de Brasil]

Janessa Brazil. Simon did a quick search on IMDb, an online database of millions of movies and TV shows that list cast and crew. There she was with a single credit. Girls Gone Dead, a low budget film from 2012 where bikini clad spring breakers are murdered by a stalker wielding a medieval warhammer. Crazy Girls Unlimited go crazy. It's billed as a comedy. I'm on the A list. Yeah, it's out.

[Hannah Ajala]

What's up, Sally?

[Kathleen Goldhar]

A girl down here named Destiny. Send her up.

[Hannah Ajala]

All right, hold on.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

There's somebody at the door.

[Hannah Ajala]

What's up? I'm this.

[Simon de Brasil]

Janessa Brazil's character is listed as Topless Slide Girl. A few more clicks and Simon had uncovered hundreds of videos and stills. A wave of not safe for work content starring Janessa. Not hardcore, but explicit. Sex, toys, showers, masturbation. Shirley, or Janessa as she's actually known, was popular on sites like pornhub and spankbank. The tornado of X rated content was surprising. But then he found something even wilder.

[Hannah Ajala]

Googling her, I discovered that she was also, according to a website, I found the most impersonated person in the entire world. With over 100,000 fake IDs using her photographs.

[Simon de Brasil]

It's hard to measure if 100,000 fake profiles is actually an accurate number. But if you search the name Janessa Brazil, millions of results come back. And Simon discovered that the Internet is filled with angry men who'd been taken in by images of Janessa. Their stories are heartbreaking. Millions of dollars lost, marriages destroyed. Simon had stumbled into the grim world of catfish victims. A catfisher is someone who uses a fake online profile to lure an unsuspecting person into a relationship, sometimes to steal from them.

[Hannah Ajala]

There was a website called romancescan.com which was the one that said that Janessa was the most impersonated person in the world. And it also pointed out that she was not herself responsible for any of the frauds that were perpetrated in her name, because these were pictures that had been stolen from her and used by other people. The scammers were sharing images and maybe even sharing details of victims, as far as I could work out later. And it's a huge industry. I mean, she was just one tiny part of absolutely massive fraud that's going on around the world.

[Simon de Brasil]

So Simon was now certain that Shirley was a fake. Yet another scammer using Janessa Brazile's image. By that point, she was already a lot less interested in his photography than she had been in the beginning. In fact, she has some demands.

[Hannah Ajala]

She said that she needed the money to tide her over during the Christmas New Year season because basically she wasn't back to work until the middle of January. And she just Needed the money for her kids, so she asked me to send her $300.

[Simon de Brasil]

The tone was almost threatening.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

Cash. How much can you get me? And when after doing it for me, I'll know that you'll be there for me and will never disappoint me. You still don't trust me? If you ain't do it, that's fine. But don't try pulling my ear first. I don't like it when someone is making it hard for me.

[Hannah Ajala]

She said, if you really loved me, you'd do what I asked you to do.

[Simon de Brasil]

And then you responded and I responded.

[Hannah Ajala]

You used a fake identity, a false story and stolen photographs. Why the fuck should I give you anything at all?

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon blocked and reported. Shirley Twitter killed the account. Janetta number one was done. Simon was now determined to find the real Janessa. He wanted to turn his quest into an article. He began sifting through accounts using the name Janessa.

[Hannah Ajala]

I just thought, well, this is a great story. I'm going to look into this. Because these people obviously aren't Janessa Brazil. Some of them didn't even really claim to be, but they were using her pictures, and some of them did claim to be, and they were using other people's pictures, and there were some who were using the name Janessa Brazil and using her pictures. So I emailed a selection of them just to get a conversation going.

[Simon de Brasil]

It wasn't long before he heard back from one Good evening, my love and then another.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

I dreamt you were close to me on bed. As you kiss and hold me tightly. You make love to me and got me pregnant. I wanna fall asleep in your arms always as you kiss and gaze into my eyes.

[Simon de Brasil]

The propositions were goofy, but kind of intoxicating too. Simon was determined to keep it professional.

[Hannah Ajala]

After the initial approach, which I was completely bemused by. I was doing this as a journalist, so I was very careful about how I dealt with this woman and what I said to her. So I'm not the average punter who. Who may be taken in by the woman on the end of the line or sort of was keen to reveal too much about myself.

[Simon de Brasil]

But still, as his inbox overflowed, Simon was coming to understand the power, the intimacy in these exchanges, that total strangers over the Internet could form such thrilling connections.

[Hannah Ajala]

And I can see that some people who are lonely or needy might find it quite sort of rewarding, because every single conversation started off with, how are you, my darling? Have you cleaned your teeth today? Have you had a shower yet? Are you warm enough?

[Simon de Brasil]

The wife that you've never met your online wife.

[Hannah Ajala]

Well, exactly. It really felt like that.

[Simon de Brasil]

When Simon responded to one Janessa, another one would pop up in his inbox. The Janessas were starting to multiply.

[Hannah Ajala]

I mean, the obvious ones would start referring to me as my husband.

[Simon de Brasil]

Oh, gosh.

[Hannah Ajala]

Within five minutes of starting a conversation.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon's social media accounts became a cascade of Janessa pics. One Janessa was topless, another was wearing Mickey Mouse ears. There was Janessa in sweatpants, in a bikini, in a bandage dress. So many accounts, so many Janessas. Simon kept asking them, who are you really? But the Janessa shrugged off the question. They had different approaches. One Janessa had a sick mother. Another needed money for a car.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

You got me so worried as I keep thinking so much about you. I miss you so badly. It's Valentine's tomorrow and I am on my own again. Honey, I'm not feeling well since yesterday. I wish you could assist me with some vital meds and foodstuffs. Okay?

[Simon de Brasil]

The stories were so complex that even the Janessas couldn't keep track of the details. What they had asked for from Simon and what he'd agreed to. Simon wrote back, but I gave you.

[Hannah Ajala]

$5,000 only last week for your operation, remember?

[Simon de Brasil]

And no, he hadn't given her any money.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

Yes, honey, but the doctor prescribes some meds I need to buy for the health on the operation. It very vital meds, babe. It very important to my health.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon noticed that a lot of these texts circled back to West Africa.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

This is Janissa, your wife, here in Ghana from Spain. Due to my terrible situation on my surgery operation, this place is much better and alright for the treatment. I gonna get back from recovery sooner.

[Simon de Brasil]

This is where I come in. I'm British Nigerian and I divide my time between London and Lagos. I've also spent time in Ghana, so to me this story is personal. Not all Internet fraud originates in West Africa, but it does have a reputation. Maybe you've heard of the 419 or Nigerian print scams? I can't stand these associations. It doesn't speak of the Africa I know. And I'm wary of telling a story that could amplify these impressions. But I'm also a millennial who spends a lot of time clicking, liking, swiping, and someone who guards her privacy very carefully. The selfies on my phone would probably not be interesting to a scammer, but they are mine. As Simon is talking, I feel for Janessa. She seems to have lost control of her image on an unimaginable scale. And I want to know what happened. Simon also wondered what the real Janessa Brazil, the striking woman in the pictures, would make of all this. He wrote to a modeling agency that seemed to represent her, asking, did you know your image is being used by scammers? To Simon's surprise, he got a response.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

From the BBC World Service. These attackers have no fear. They would have killed me had they found out.

[Simon de Brasil]

It was really intense.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

I just saw the entire financial markets grinding to a halt. This is what they've stolen. So many millions of dollars.

[Hannah Ajala]

Oh, it's got to be North Korea.

[Simon de Brasil]

There was chaos. What do you mean they've disappeared?

[Kathleen Goldhar]

It was almost like a perfect crime. Where did they get the money? How in the world did this happen? The Lazarus Heist from the BBC World Service. Search for the Lazarus Heist wherever you get your podcasts. A Prime Minister resigns, a president returns. A whole world of changes to navigate and understand. If you're someone trying to sort through what's real and what's relevant from a Canadian perspective, we are here for you every night of the week. Your World Tonight is more than just a recap of daily news. Our award winning team goes deeper on stories that speak to the moment. The full picture, context and analysis, all in about 25 minutes. I'm Susan Bonner. Find and Follow youw World Tonight from CBC News, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon receives an email from Janessa, but get this. She told him her real name was Vanessa.

[Hannah Ajala]

And she basically said, thank you for alerting me to this. I'm well aware of it. This scam has been so enormous that I'm absolutely unable to work at the moment. And it's made my life a misery. I've been subject to court proceedings in Florida. I even had one man who claimed that he'd given me $2 million that I'd embezzled from him. And I was taken to court. My assets have been frozen. I'm not allowed to post anything in public online. And I'm basically struggling to try and clear my name so I can get back to work again.

[Simon de Brasil]

The person using the name Vanessa told him that she had been the victim of a hack. Her personal photos were stolen and her image had spiraled out across the Internet. Now Simon was on the receiving end of yet another drama packed story and he was a little wary by this point.

[Hannah Ajala]

And so I said, well, how do I know who you are?

[Simon de Brasil]

He wanted corroboration.

[Hannah Ajala]

She gave me her name and I was able to trace that name to a house in Florida, near Tampa. And I found it on an estate agent's website. And it had interior shots of the house. And the furniture in the estate agent's shots was exactly the same as the ones in her glamour shots. So the pictures had been taken in the same room in Janessa's house that Vanessa was registered at. So it was pretty convincing.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon asked for a selfie and she sent one. It was a picture of the woman known online as Janessa Brazil, but a little older than in other pictures, Maybe in her 40s, not too made up, the kind of casual picture anyone might have on her phone.

[Hannah Ajala]

The EXIF data, which is the information that comes attached to a photograph, was current, and it appeared to have been taken like the day before, rather than the other ones, which had been taken previously, months before, or even years before. And then she sent me a picture of her Florida driving license just to confirm that she was who she said she was. And I believed them. So I then thought I had contacted the real Janessa Brazil.

[Simon de Brasil]

But Simon didn't get to savor his victory for long. The text, which had been cordial, filled with gratitude, suddenly shifted in tone. Vanessa said she was in trouble. She told Simon that she'd gone to Toronto to get away from the whole Janessa Brazil imposter scandal. Now she was holed up in an expensive hotel room.

[Hannah Ajala]

She gave me the name of the hotel, and she told me that while she was there, she received an email from her bank in Florida telling her that her credit cards had been frozen.

[Simon de Brasil]

The only way to unfreeze her credit cards would be to visit her branch in Florida. But she didn't have money to settle her hotel bill in Toronto or money for anything else.

[Hannah Ajala]

So she told me that she hadn't eaten for three days. I checked on the weather app, and it was minus 30 in Toronto at the time. She said she hadn't got any proper shoes and no warm clothes. She just come for. Literally for a couple of days and was stuck in this hotel. So I said, go to the manager and explain the situation and write an affidavit or whatever it takes to say that you will pay whatever you owe them when you get your account unfrozen, which will be as soon as you get back to Florida. And then she said, I've done what you've told me. And he asked to see my passport. And then he took it away and put it in a drawer and said I wouldn't get it back until I'd paid the bill for the room.

[Simon de Brasil]

And obviously you believed her.

[Hannah Ajala]

I Didn't know whether to believe her. I, quite honestly, I couldn't prove it one way or the other.

[Simon de Brasil]

Every question he threw at her, she deflected.

[Hannah Ajala]

I'd even rung the hotel, and they had no record of her being in the hotel. And when I put that to her, she said, well, I'm not under my own name because I've got a high profile and I don't want the paparazzi finding out that I'm here. So there was always an excuse.

[Simon de Brasil]

Question, could she send a photo of herself in the hotel room? Answer, the court order prevented her from uploading pictures. Question, could she confirm her identity by giving her father's first name? Answer, she never shared private information. Of course, Simon was suspicious, but he'd been pulled in. Simon believed he had given this woman advice that had led to her passport being confiscated. He felt a bit guilty, especially when she wrote that she hadn't eaten in days. It was snowing. She didn't even have a coat.

[Hannah Ajala]

I was feeling really bad that it was possible this person, whether or not it was Janessa, actually hadn't had anything to eat because she was going on about it so much.

[Simon de Brasil]

He seemed to be in conversation with a person who was suffering in real time right in front of him. All these details, the granular storytelling. Plus, at the time, he was researching for his article. So he sent her $200.

[Hannah Ajala]

PayPal blocked the payment and asked me to call their fraud department. And when I spoke to them, they told me the reason that they blocked it was because my payment had been made, or would have been made to someone called Hillary wealth in Lagos in.

[Simon de Brasil]

Nigeria, where I am right now.

[Hannah Ajala]

Where you are right now, yeah.

[Simon de Brasil]

Of course, when Simon confronted her, the person calling themself Vanessa could explain away this hiccup, too. She was banned from PayPal due to the scammers, so she had to use her landlord's account. And he was from Nigeria. All Vanessa needed was $5,000 to get to the airport. The journalist in Simon was telling him to keep going. Simon came up with a plan. He had a friend in Toronto, Donald, a playwright and vintage watch collector. He called Donald and asked if he would be prepared to go to a bank machine and withdraw $1,000 for someone staying at a very nice downtown hotel. Simon didn't say who he promised to PayPal Donald the money. Donald said no problem. He waited for the signal from Simon. Simon texted Vanessa his plan. Don would come and drop off the cash as long as she showed her face and proved who she was. This didn't go over well.

[Hannah Ajala]

She went ballistic when I told her this, and she claimed that I should not have involved another person in this business because it was going to cause her a huge amount of problems if it turns out that the papers got hold of the story that Janessa Brazil was penniless and having to rely on charity to get home.

[Simon de Brasil]

That's when Simon reminded her that he was a journalist and that he planned to write a story to expose all the fake Janessas. She didn't like that either.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

You really want to bring me out into public, is that it? If you ever break my secrets, my spirits will never forgive you.

[Simon de Brasil]

Simon had reached the end of the road. He could no longer deny what I'm sure you figured out already while researching the woman behind the images that had been used to catfish him. He'd been catfished for the second time. Would you give her some props for how she sort of constructed this scam, you know, from the.

[Hannah Ajala]

Oh, she was absolutely brilliant. She was absolutely brilliant. I mean, it got better and better.

[Simon de Brasil]

And then the text just stopped.

[Hannah Ajala]

The conversation over a period of days fizzled out. I mean, I'd even gone to the extent of saying to her, go to the airport. I'll pay your Uber fare. I'm gonna pay your airfare to Florida. Just take a picture of the departure board with a flight on it, and I will pay it immediately by card. And she never did that, of course, because she couldn't, because she wasn't in Toronto.

[Simon de Brasil]

And that was the end of Vanessa. Simon published his article on the Janessa scams in spring 2020. The timing meant that the story was overshadowed by the start of the global pandemic. But with so many potential victims now stuck at home, lonely, and trying to live their lives online, the crime he was documenting only increased. Today, Simon still gets pinged by the occasional Janessa. Clearly, his info is being passed around. But by who? Who is on the other end of these messages? And from what part of the world are they sending their greetings? Because either the person Simon connected with was the real Janessa Brazile, which would mean she's in on it. Or maybe these fake Janessa scams are seriously elaborate affairs. Perhaps some might use front companies. Others could be run by people with the ability to forge documents and alter photos. Regardless, it makes me wonder, what does the real Janessa Brazil think of all this? I'm determined to finish what Simon started, to figure out who Janessa really is, how her image became the ultimate bait for catfishes, and how it got so out of control. But first I need to find her. So this is a lady called Janessa, and I just want you to tell me if you've ever seen this woman before.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

We're sorry.

[Simon de Brasil]

You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. Please check the number and try your call again, senora. And while I'm trying to track down Janessa, I'm finding out that Simon got off easy. Other people who got entangled with Janessa didn't walk away so undamaged. Some fell hard and paid a high price.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

Every time it was an excuse. She was like, no, now I can't. Or now, no, I broke my phone. Oh, now this phone doesn't work, and blah, blah, blah. So for almost two months was like, that initially was like €50, next 100, next 500. So I was sending, like, probably 50 to 25k in the first two, three months.

[Simon de Brasil]

That's next time on Love Janessa. Love Janessa is an antica and telltale production for the BBC World Service and CBC Podcasts. I'm Hanna Ajala. Our producers are Katrina Onstad and Laura Regare. Associate producer is Hayley Choi. Sound designed by Philip Wilson and and Janine White. Executive producers are Stuart Cox and Jago Lee. Emily Cannell is our coordinating producer. Chris Oak is executive producer of CBC Podcasts. Arif Noorani is the director of CBC Podcasts, and John Mennell is the podcast commissioning editor at the BBC World Service. Thanks for listen.

[Kathleen Goldhar]

A BBC World Service and CBC podcast production.