0:01

This is a CBC Podcast. A

0:05

BBC World Service and CBC Podcast

0:07

production. Before we

0:09

start, please note this series

0:11

contains adult themes and strong language.

0:16

What is Roberto Morini?

0:23

Roberto Morini is part of an

0:25

exclusive event. A live

0:27

video meetup. Adults only.

0:30

Hello, how are you? Roberto's

0:32

typing questions into the chat alongside other

0:34

men who've also paid to be there.

0:38

There's John and Big Guy. Hi,

0:40

Big Guy. The voice belongs

0:43

to the woman performing on screen, Janessa

0:46

Brazil. The men can

0:48

watch her, but she can't see them.

0:51

Just their typed messages. She's

0:53

sitting on the edge of a bed wearing

0:55

lace lingerie and flipping a

0:57

mop of long black hair this way

0:59

and that, grooving to the music. She's

1:02

a cam girl. A woman who

1:05

gets paid to stream explicit material live

1:07

on the internet via webcam. John's

1:10

questions appear in the chat. Do

1:13

you ever do a lap dance? For fun?

1:16

Or for money? Beside

1:20

her is a homemade carnival wheel, like

1:22

one you'd see on a game show. Only

1:25

this one is made out of cardboard

1:27

and markers. When it

1:29

spins, winners land on triangles that

1:31

read, shake arse, flash

1:33

titties and ride pillow. Everyone

1:37

is having a great time, except

1:39

for Roberto, who's heartbroken.

1:42

Janessa Brazil is the woman he

1:44

loves. The woman he wants to

1:46

build a life with. And now,

1:48

here she is, half naked

1:50

on the internet, getting ready to

1:53

spin the carnival wheel. She

1:55

promised him she wasn't going to do this

1:57

kind of work anymore. money

2:00

that he's been sending her, she

2:02

shouldn't need to. Roberto's

2:04

confused. He begins

2:07

typing in the chat the one question

2:09

that's burning him up. Is

2:11

it really you? From

2:20

CBC Podcasts and the BBC World

2:22

Service, my name is Hannah

2:24

Ajala and this is Love,

2:28

my

2:31

name is Vanessa. The story of my

2:33

wild quest to find the women whose

2:36

face and body is the bait used

2:38

in catfishing schemes around

2:40

the world. Episode

2:48

2, The Big Fish.

2:53

Hi, I arrived finally. Roberto

2:56

is settling into his square

2:58

on our virtual recording session.

3:01

I am feeling already very comfortable in here,

3:04

it's super cosy and everything is tranquil so

3:06

whatever is going to flow. He's a few

3:08

minutes late getting to the studio because of

3:10

traffic but he's keen to get started. Everyone

3:13

knows when they meet me in person

3:16

in my land that I am simply

3:18

someone that loves to create a garden,

3:21

a real Adam garden. He's

3:23

a self-employed sustainable farmer in Sardinia,

3:26

a mountainous Italian island

3:28

in the heart of the Mediterranean.

3:31

Known for its white beaches and crystal

3:33

blue coastline, it's not

3:35

hard to understand why holidaymakers describe it as

3:37

a slice of heaven. I

3:40

have been living in Sardinia for

3:42

almost all my life so I

3:44

have been growing in my family,

3:47

connected to all my uncles, my

3:49

aunts, etc etc. All

3:51

of them have been very supporting for me

3:53

all my life. Roberto

3:56

is as open-hearted as they come. You

3:58

might call him a hippie. He looks

4:01

like a 60s throwback, wild

4:03

curly hair, leather vest, colorful

4:05

shirt. He's also

4:07

a romantic. I

4:09

am a loyal person, so when

4:12

I actually dedicate myself to someone,

4:14

it's because I want to stay

4:16

with that someone. Regardless of

4:18

the challenges that may arise in life. United,

4:21

everything is possible. We can

4:23

overcome everything. Roberto's in his

4:25

early 30s and says he's

4:27

ready to settle down. He wants

4:30

a family of his own to add to the

4:32

sizable, marini clan. But Roberto

4:34

hasn't found his soulmate yet. It

4:37

wasn't long ago that he thought he had found her.

4:40

And it's that story. One

4:43

that's very painful and convoluted. That

4:46

I want to talk to him about. Roberto's

4:54

story might make a less open

4:57

person embarrassed. I'm just

4:59

going to be sharing what has been

5:01

my experience and I'm going to be

5:03

more detailed as possible in everything that

5:05

I remember, obviously vividly. Those

5:08

vivid memories begin in early 2016

5:11

when Roberto got a message on social media from

5:13

a stranger, a woman he

5:15

didn't recognize. So

5:17

the first time that I got contacted

5:20

was through Facebook and it was an

5:22

account named Anna Alex. Anna

5:24

Alex was striking with long dark

5:27

hair and olive skin. She

5:30

said she was born in Brazil and now lived in

5:32

the US. She complimented him

5:34

on the success of his startup. She

5:36

wanted to get to know him. What

5:39

foods are you cooking tonight? Is

5:41

your business slow? I just started

5:44

to chat and interact with this person. And

5:47

it was obviously saying me that it was

5:49

looking what I was doing in my life,

5:51

all the activities that I was posting on

5:53

my social medias connected to the businesses that

5:55

also I was doing online, etc. The

5:58

Initial period wasn't really that long. That much of.

6:01

Photos are voice messages or anything.

6:04

In the fifth period was viewed

6:06

texting. And the after a few

6:08

time on that she was telling me like

6:10

I am like these. Was. Just

6:12

nod my fault. Like photos in

6:14

ah the seen a particular no

6:17

nudity nod off that. And

6:19

the. For. Like just a normal

6:21

person you know the someone from abroad from

6:23

another part of the woods as they can

6:25

be could offer some. Those

6:32

early conversations when light eyes

6:34

and exciting. Were.

6:36

Better looks forward to her messages each

6:38

day. Messages. That

6:40

became more frequent, more

6:42

intimate, You.

6:44

Are my happiness and I want to

6:47

experience true love in your presence. I

6:49

will be forever loyal and so my

6:51

respect to you for the love you

6:53

have given me. Still,

6:56

he wants to get to know her

6:58

better and connect face to face. He.

7:01

Us to set up a video call. It

7:03

was a number of requests by my side.

7:05

legitimate the the. I was wondering to actually

7:07

see the person I was interacting with nowadays.

7:09

Let's just face to face let. You.

7:12

Know see each other so that we can see

7:14

okay this is you'd this is me. We have

7:16

to separate the beings we are alive in the

7:18

same time. Eccentric that that even if we are

7:20

be stance in another part of the would. Be

7:23

an Alex wasn't able to talk that

7:25

day. have phone wasn't like. I

7:28

was expecting to give you a surprise

7:30

this weekend that things didn't go well

7:32

yet wanted to call. You. I lost

7:34

that number again every time. It was an

7:37

excuse like know now I can't or now

7:39

Nord but of my phone or now does

7:41

on doesn't work in blubber That's So for

7:43

almost two months was like that. So.

7:46

Their messages continued. They

7:49

tell each other about that days,

7:51

talk about foods, travel and a

7:53

feature together. This

7:55

is a voice actor reading: were

7:58

better Tax I love you. The

8:00

know it I promise I will never

8:02

make you cry a single to from

8:04

your face ever again. Thank.

8:06

You Rod and I like you.

8:08

Really, I sincerely want to meet

8:10

with you. Then,

8:12

about three months into

8:14

their relationship. came the

8:17

asked. Santa

8:19

Alex needed money. In

8:24

he said he was for a broken

8:26

phone or of for six ng something

8:28

in a god or buying like low

8:30

sunscreens. The in all. Girls.

8:33

Being sent home. So I was like. Okay

8:35

if you are doesn't need that another I'm for

8:37

me to provide your money for that. Are

8:40

better Made a good living and was happy

8:42

to help supports her. To. Buy

8:44

her little luxuries she couldn't afford. Em.

8:47

Fact he was more than happy. To send

8:49

her money? He almost couldn't help himself.

8:52

And. Was a father is an empty that

8:54

that was spinning with the meat legacy as

8:56

be the father that she never did. I

8:58

don't know why I have these feeding not

9:01

just. At. Man, order to boost. That's the

9:03

feeling that they had with the meats. That's what the

9:05

was feeding. Twenty four seven. The

9:07

money transfer started off small. And.

9:09

He said he was like this year or next one

9:11

on the that next five and that as. But.

9:14

Quickly added up. So.

9:16

I was sending like. Probably.

9:18

Fifty two point five kids. In.

9:20

The first two three months. Roberto.

9:23

Isn't hung up on money? To

9:26

him, it's temporary superficial. He

9:29

sustainable farming business was growing. And.

9:31

He wanted to help someone less fortunate. He

9:35

didn't have endless resources. But.

9:37

He was willing to say what he did have. Bas.

9:40

The month slips by. For better

9:42

or increasingly frustrated that he couldn't

9:44

see or even speak to how.

9:47

Are we gonna actually get to connect fully?

9:50

Are we gonna actually see each other? That?

9:52

are you able to actually show me your

9:54

said we can thought about money like not

9:56

call. The excuses kept coming. so did the

9:59

requests for my. We

10:01

haven't even see each other. We don't even

10:03

thought we have never made a video call

10:05

or anything like that. You asking me to

10:08

pay you for the seeing of they're seeing

10:10

accept that our families turn. It might seem

10:12

like were better. Was thinking twice about the

10:14

relationship. But despite

10:16

all the questions and disappointments,

10:19

He couldn't cut her off. Even

10:21

though his bank account was slowly training.

10:28

Hannah Alex history was sad and

10:30

full of hardship. Harmless.

10:34

Her father was an injured veterans who

10:36

could was. When. She

10:38

wasn't tag. Giving Souza model and

10:40

actress who made a living in

10:42

the Cd world's of a little

10:45

entertainment. Prevent

10:47

to face of the sort of

10:49

have performing and live online service

10:51

are paying customers were only her

10:53

underwear flirting with other men. Son

10:55

Alex claims she wanted to get

10:58

out of the industry that she

11:00

was. She said

11:02

she needed the money. That's when

11:04

Roberto made a proposal. Keeps

11:07

a have weapons is seen. As

11:09

a business. She

11:11

said she would but then how

11:14

online com sessions continued A straight

11:16

said we're better started to begin

11:18

to have a story. It just

11:20

didn't add up. So.

11:23

When is that it's reserves and that

11:25

that had to see all the episodes

11:28

on google obviously was like a hot

11:30

bag. Am I even seem like What

11:32

is this? A quick websites revealed that

11:34

the photo sheath censor Rubbertown belong to

11:36

someone else. All. Those

11:38

images of the striking woman

11:40

was long thought have an

11:42

accent a body does what actually

11:45

pictures of a woman codes

11:47

and he probably already death

11:49

Sinister Brazil. One.

11:54

Of my pretties as fast on. were better through

11:57

comments he posted on the website bromance

11:59

scams now rubato

12:02

wanted to warn others about fake

12:04

accounts being run by people who

12:06

were using Janessa's stolen images and

12:09

identity to entangle their victims. This

12:12

is one of the posts he wrote under

12:14

the section scammer's favorites. Hi

12:17

there are tons of Instagram accounts that

12:19

are using Janessa identity and

12:22

I would like to point them out here to

12:24

be sure no one gets scammed by them. These

12:27

are all profiles using Janessa photos,

12:30

many of them saying to be her when chatting and

12:32

all asking for money with the most hilarious

12:35

stories. Roberto wrote these

12:37

comments three years into his online

12:39

relationship and like

12:41

many parts of his story the

12:44

messages are multi-layered and at

12:46

times contradictory. He

12:49

says he wants to expose the online

12:51

romance scammers who've stolen Janessa's

12:53

images to protect

12:55

the victims but

12:58

he also wants to protect Janessa.

13:02

He appears convinced that he has been

13:04

in contact with the real Janessa although

13:07

she'd suddenly gone quiet at the time. I

13:10

just want to get back in touch with her as

13:13

there are so much scammers in every form that I

13:15

may be a victim as well now. I

13:17

understand that she has a right to privacy

13:19

as well as anyone should but I just

13:21

would like to know if she is fine.

13:29

When Roberto first uncovers Janessa's

13:32

eye-popping online presence he's

13:34

shocked. She has her

13:37

own website and profiles on explicit video

13:39

streaming sites. These images

13:41

are way more explicit than anything

13:43

he'd received from Hannah Alex. Roberto

13:47

knows that there are scammers using Janessa's

13:49

images to lure people in and

13:52

that's probably what's going on with Hannah Alex

13:55

but she doesn't exist. She's

13:57

a fiction. Overwhelming.

14:01

Were. Better was deeply shaken. I

14:04

was continuously having these kind of. Feelings.

14:08

And sensations that where Does it really not

14:10

even make me able to sleep properly at

14:12

my daughter. Having. A.

14:14

Yellow Stability. But. Maybe

14:17

just maybe. Hannah

14:19

Alex was jealous of Brazil. And

14:22

she didn't want to reveal her

14:24

true identity out of concern. It.

14:26

Might complicate there when they since

14:28

it. Is. So

14:31

that beautiful woman He'd been

14:33

sending his innermost thoughts to.

14:36

along with a staggering number. Of

14:38

money transfers was still

14:40

out there. It's

14:42

clearly a stretch, but Roberto

14:44

couldn't sit the possibility. So

14:47

he decided to ask himself. He

14:51

logged into one of Genesis online

14:54

video chats and there she was,

14:56

on screen talking and laughing in

14:58

the Sas. Were

15:02

better. was paying twelve dollars per minute to

15:04

join a com says and with a woman

15:06

called to that's the Brazil. It's

15:09

a few minutes. But we're better.

15:12

Finally got up the nerve to ask

15:14

the questions that were eating him up

15:16

inside. Is it really you do? You

15:18

know that romance comedy are using your

15:21

pictures pretend to be you and then

15:23

he got more personal. I started to

15:25

ask like the you know me you

15:28

know I am they'd I am talking

15:30

with you or that is someone as

15:32

but when I say these then when

15:35

a salad I was Robert the money

15:37

enough said that us you know.of be

15:39

sensitive that. Has an adverse is that

15:42

a sketch at odds that the to

15:44

look around and said to say no

15:46

and on our systems down as soon

15:48

as this session that were better recorded

15:51

with his phone but he didn't capture

15:53

the pot he's describing her. so

15:56

say they have like for another

15:58

more minutes because It was

16:00

even costly to do that and I just said, okay,

16:04

it's okay, it's fine. Have a

16:06

good day. And I just got out. But

16:10

in the moment that I was waiting to get out,

16:12

I see that actually she gets the

16:14

phone. In the

16:16

same moment she gets the phone, I get a text message. He

16:20

says that message was from Hannah Alex. Or

16:23

should he now be calling her Janessa? Roberta

16:26

is certain that the timing is more

16:28

than just a coincidence. I

16:30

just started to receive messages of like, please

16:33

sorry, I know that I told you I wouldn't

16:35

have been doing those things anymore and blah, blah,

16:37

blah, because those were things that I would obviously

16:39

tell to her like, I'm paying for everything, I'm

16:41

paying for your food, I'm paying for your house,

16:43

I'm paying for everything that you may need, just

16:45

stop doing that. Roberta says

16:48

she was apologizing for continuing to

16:50

work on adult streaming sites. And

16:52

she'd promised she'd stop if he paid her

16:55

living expenses. So,

16:58

got to this feeling of like, maybe

17:01

seriously this person is like, really

17:04

talking with me. Maybe she's trying to hide

17:06

her identity or whatever maybe, but

17:08

maybe really she's her. This

17:11

was the first time he'd seen her on video. The

17:14

first interaction they'd had where he could

17:16

see her face. He was

17:19

convinced Janessa Brazil and Hannah Alex

17:21

were the same person. But

17:24

by now, Roberta had left the

17:26

live video session. So

17:28

he couldn't see if she was texting in real

17:30

time. He took these

17:32

messages and their perfect timing as

17:35

confirmation that he was actually in

17:37

contact with Janessa Brazil. And

17:40

that the two of them were in use.

17:43

Thank you. of

18:00

Love, Janessa from CBC and the

18:03

BBC World Service are available right

18:05

now. Binge listen to

18:07

the entire series by searching Love,

18:10

Janessa. Uncover the

18:12

best in true crime. A

18:17

web of manipulation and terrifying abuse.

18:19

If you'd have said to do anything, I would

18:22

have done it. With a powerful religious figure

18:24

at its centre. There was no safe place.

18:26

You don't say no to him. World

18:28

of Secrets from the BBC

18:30

World Service is back with

18:32

a brand new season. Investigating

18:34

allegations surrounding the preacher, T.V.

18:36

Joshua. Sequeljaw or secrecy, natively

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broken. Search for World of

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Secrets wherever you get your

18:43

BBC podcasts. After

18:51

that brief live interaction, Roberta

18:54

and Janessa's relationship went back to the

18:56

way it had always been. No

18:58

phone or video calls, just

19:00

texts and emails. They

19:03

professed their love to each other while

19:05

Roberta started to sink into debt. So

19:07

he could keep supporting her. Then

19:10

one day, Roberta got some good

19:12

news. No. Great

19:14

news. Janessa was planning to

19:16

visit Europe. She was

19:18

heading to Düsseldorf, Germany. A

19:20

90 minute flight from Sardinia. Roberta

19:23

jumped at the chance to see her and

19:25

booked a ticket. He wanted

19:27

to pick her up and bring her home to Sardinia.

19:30

So they could start their new life together. I

19:33

was obviously having a very happy

19:35

and cheerful moment in which like,

19:38

OK, finally, let's go to take

19:40

her from the airport so that we can start

19:42

to show her the island. We can give her

19:44

accommodation and everything. And it

19:47

was obviously something that I was waiting for

19:49

so long that wasn't seeming real. Roberta

19:52

and his dad fly to Düsseldorf

19:54

with plenty of time to spare. They

19:57

don't want her to arrive before they do. They

20:00

wait for Janessa's flight to land. Each

20:03

minute feels like an hour as

20:05

they stare at the arrival's gate.

20:07

And then, Roberto thinks he

20:10

sees her. He's sure

20:12

it's her. That face in

20:14

the sea of travellers. The face

20:16

he'd seen in all those photos and in

20:18

the online video meter, but never

20:20

in person. She's

20:22

strolling through the terminal, pulling a suitcase

20:24

behind her. Roberto darts across

20:27

the room, but loses sight of her.

20:29

He pushes his way through the crowd, but

20:31

she's moving faster than he can. As he

20:35

looks over and arounds the throng of

20:37

travellers, an unwelcome thought crosses

20:39

his mind. It almost

20:41

feels like she's avoiding him. He's

20:44

trying to catch her eye, but he

20:46

can't. When I would go to

20:48

actually get to talk to her, she would like

20:50

start to run and go into like girls'

20:53

bathrooms and stuff like that. So at that point I

20:55

was like, my mind is tricking me completely. Am

20:57

I like completely weirded out what is going on?

21:00

He scours the airport. There's no way

21:02

she's hiding from him. They

21:05

made plans to meet, right there in

21:07

the airport. But after

21:09

a thorough search, he has to face

21:11

the fact that she's gone. He'd

21:13

miss his thoughts to meet her, talk to

21:16

her, hold her, simply be with

21:18

her. Roberto was

21:20

crushed. He'd become fixated

21:22

on creating a life with someone he

21:24

couldn't have. And

21:27

his sense of self was slipping away.

21:54

Roberto and his father went home. For

21:57

Roberto's family, the incident at the

22:00

off airport was a turning point.

22:03

So they say, why you keep doing this? Don't you see

22:05

that it's a scam for sure? They are taking it just

22:07

for the money, blah, blah, blah. The stories,

22:10

the excuses, the strange

22:13

sighting at the airport, it

22:15

still wasn't enough to break Roberto's bond with

22:18

her. They kept talking.

22:21

He kept sending her money. I

22:23

love her. I just love her.

22:25

I want to see her finally happy and out of

22:28

all these things. Like, I don't care if

22:30

it's causing me that amount of time, that amount of

22:32

money, that amount of energy. I just want to see

22:34

her happy. Really,

22:42

anyone can fall for this, right?

22:44

There's no one type of victim.

22:47

Anshul Rege has seen relationships, like

22:49

the one between Roberto and his

22:51

Janessa, play out over and over.

22:54

What makes one gullible? It's not

22:56

something related to your intelligence, your

22:59

career. It's so much more than

23:01

that. Anshul is an associate

23:03

professor of criminal justice at Philadelphia's

23:05

Temple University. She

23:08

studied online romance scams, including

23:10

the formulaic approach that's so often

23:13

used to groom victims. There

23:15

have been folks who are like, well,

23:17

this seems kind of too

23:20

good to be true, but they

23:22

still follow their heart over

23:24

their, perhaps, brain, right? Because

23:27

we're looking again for that human touch,

23:29

and I think that's what really makes

23:31

this so

23:34

heart-wrenchingly painful. When

23:37

you step back and try to

23:39

unravel how Hannah Alex, or Janessa,

23:41

won Roberto's trust, it's as

23:43

if she was following a playbook. And

23:46

as wild as it sounds, she might actually

23:48

have been. It's almost

23:50

like a flow chart, if you will. Oh,

23:53

you need initial contact messages? Go

23:55

to page 2. If

23:58

they ask you about your financial. financial situation

24:00

go to page 3. If

24:03

I want to know about your family go to pages 4 and 5.

24:06

If I want to know about

24:08

your nature go to this page in the playbook

24:10

that demonstrates your trustworthiness. So

24:12

it's like a manual. Yep. How's

24:15

you guide? Yep. Arshul

24:17

sent me a digital copy of one of these

24:19

manuals. In her research

24:22

she discovered that those circulate amongst

24:24

others. The

24:26

23 page document includes chapter headings like

24:29

ways of saying hi to a client and

24:33

why we don't make calls. The

24:35

second one is in all caps. The

24:38

manual is practical and specific. It

24:41

refers to victims as clients. There

24:44

are pages and pages of messages to

24:46

send at each stage of the scam.

24:49

If you're trying to reel someone in

24:51

you could text I

24:53

want to be the reason you look into your

24:55

phone and smile. Or I

24:58

can't think of anything better than getting a reply

25:00

from you. A more intimate

25:02

conversation starters that ask about a

25:04

client's family or about their hopes

25:06

and dreams in life. The

25:09

manual also includes a lot of

25:12

advice on how to avoid

25:14

tough questions and sticky situations

25:16

as they arise. If

25:19

you are asked to communicate via phone then

25:21

go to this page for a whole bunch

25:23

of excuses. And if you're

25:25

ready to extract funds start going to these

25:27

parts of the playbook that get into the

25:29

narratives that you're gonna need. So

25:31

it's all well planned and these

25:33

are 30 40 50

25:36

page playbooks that are

25:38

designed with a whole bunch of experience

25:40

behind it. And

25:44

it starts from the very first message that

25:47

casual first greeting is anything but.

25:50

Typically the longest part of a

25:53

scam is really the grooming process

25:55

and that's where you're going to

25:58

try to establish that. loving

26:00

relationship, try to develop a

26:02

strong bond. And that

26:04

could take anywhere from six months to two

26:06

years. So the return on

26:09

investment, this is the long con. You're in

26:11

it for the long run. And

26:13

something that is very common

26:15

in the grooming stage is love bombing.

26:18

Yes. It's intense

26:20

showering and bombarding of love

26:23

and affection and attention to show

26:25

them that you are

26:27

crazy about them, that you

26:29

absolutely love them, that this

26:31

is your soulmate. It's really

26:34

similar to getting addicted to

26:36

a drug. So it's

26:38

that same kind of

26:40

attachment dependency so that

26:42

withdrawal seems impossible

26:45

and painful. Right? So

26:47

that's what gets you hooked. Roberta

26:50

was the first to admit that he

26:52

was hurt on his relationship with Janessa.

26:55

Despite the distance, the lack of

26:57

FaceTime and all the money flowing from

26:59

his wallet to hers, despite

27:02

it all, the connection he

27:04

felt was real. It

27:06

changes from you to we. And

27:10

so even that idea of now we are

27:12

in this together, I am doing this for

27:14

us so that we can be together. So

27:17

psychologically, the messaging of it

27:19

changes as well to go

27:21

from one to a pair, a couple. And

27:26

that's what you're trying to establish. It's

27:29

almost similar to being brainwashed,

27:31

right? You hear this over

27:34

and over and over and over

27:36

again every single day. That

27:39

is also what love bombing is trying to

27:41

do. You're led

27:43

so far along that when

27:45

that request comes, you have

27:47

absolutely fallen for this person.

27:50

So you are

27:52

really speaking to the core

27:55

human emotion of what

27:57

we call the natural inclination.

28:00

to help as human beings

28:02

we are wired to help

28:04

each other out. That's

28:06

just how we're built. It's

28:08

definitely the way Roberto's built. He

28:11

felt compelled to help her, propelled

28:14

by a fatherish energy as he

28:16

describes it. And

28:18

he kept holding out hope that

28:20

once Janessa was financially stable,

28:23

she would finally leave her old life behind to

28:25

be with him. The

28:27

way this is framed from the

28:29

scammers narrative is once

28:31

I get the money from you, I

28:34

can clear this hurdle and we can

28:36

be together. And then what that's

28:38

actually doing is sending the

28:41

message that you not sending me

28:43

money is preventing us from being

28:46

together. That's what's holding it back.

28:48

So again, they're not explicit with

28:50

it, but it's very cleverly done.

28:53

It's subliminally done. And that's

28:55

what makes it so brilliant and

28:57

so successful. It's

29:05

2019 and Roberto is still entangled

29:07

in a virtual relationship with a

29:09

woman he called his girlfriend. They

29:13

had never met, never

29:15

talked on the phone for

29:17

three years. He

29:19

believed he could give her the fresh thoughts she deserved.

29:22

She could leave the adult entertainment industry

29:24

for a comfortable life with him on

29:27

his beloved Island of Sardinia. Even

29:30

if we have never met and even

29:32

if I had never got the ability

29:34

to actually see her or nowhere

29:37

physically, I was feeling

29:39

that it was something very important for myself

29:42

to actually be present for this person in

29:44

that period of her life. So

29:46

yes, of course I was loving it

29:48

unconditionally without even having adapt

29:51

about it. Roberto

29:54

couldn't wait any longer. He needed

29:56

to be with her. He

29:59

knew if he could just Get her to Italy, all

30:01

of the obstacles and challenges keeping them apart

30:04

would melt away. So

30:06

he offered to buy her a one-way ticket

30:08

to Sardinia. They could

30:10

meet at the Caori Airport, jump into

30:12

his car, and drive off

30:15

into the Italian sunset together. To

30:18

his delight, Janetta's reply was swift.

30:21

Yes, I'll come. We can finally

30:23

be together. The

30:30

day of her arrival, Roberto has

30:32

everything planned out. He's home, he's

30:34

family, he's farm. They're all waiting for

30:36

her to complete his life and kickstart

30:38

the next chapter. At

30:41

the airport, people begin streaming out the

30:43

doors. Roberto scans

30:45

each face as it comes through the

30:47

gate. But none belong to Janetta.

30:51

Then he notices a man by the exit holding a sign

30:58

like one of those hired drivers waiting to pick

31:00

up someone. I

31:02

actually get to see one person

31:05

with a piece of paper with Brazil written.

31:09

His sign reads, Brazil, as in Janetta

31:11

Brazil. At least that's

31:14

what Roberto thinks. And

31:16

I start to see this young, like, slimmer, longer

31:18

woman, very tannid, working, out

31:24

from the gate, and in the moment

31:26

that I actually see and I get to see that,

31:28

to me, like, actually was her. Once

31:32

again, Roberto finds himself at an

31:34

airport watching a woman he's

31:36

convinced is Janetta from a distance.

31:41

But once again, he can't quite get

31:43

to her. She's

31:45

surrounded by a group of people that won't let

31:47

him through. No, no, you can't,

31:49

you can't, you can't come here. And

31:51

they start to take her out with, like,

31:53

bodyguards, I don't know, maybe security people. And

31:57

once you get out from the airport, they start to take her out with, like, bodyguards,

31:59

I don't know, maybe security people. she get into a car. The

32:03

car drives off and she's

32:06

gone. In

32:14

the days that followed that crashing scene

32:16

at the airport in Sardinia, Roberto

32:18

gave Gennessa an ultimatum. Almost

32:21

four years had passed since their

32:24

first tax exchange. You

32:54

heard that right. $250,000. Roberto says

32:56

he had drained his savings, borrowed

32:58

money from

33:06

friends and relatives, taken

33:08

out loans. He was

33:10

finally tapped out, financially,

33:12

emotionally, spiritually.

33:16

When I reached the maximum amount and

33:18

the maximum availability that I could

33:20

actually send out, I just

33:23

clearly said, okay, at this point,

33:25

it's really either you really love me, meaning

33:29

that you love me even if I have

33:31

or I don't have money, or

33:33

this is all just something that is getting to be

33:35

a tool that you use to trick

33:37

me. Because right now I don't have any

33:39

more money. I give everything to you. That's

33:42

when the relationship ended. Gennessa

33:45

went silent. Roberto finally

33:47

started to let go. That

33:49

moment I said, okay, this seriously

33:51

is something that I don't want anymore in my life.

33:54

I don't want this cognitive dissonance anymore. I

33:56

don't want it anymore. Back

33:58

in the studio, I show Roberto

34:00

a picture of Janessa I found online,

34:02

wearing a white dress. Is

34:05

this the woman he loved? Yes,

34:07

that was, let's say, her

34:09

appearance when she was younger. And

34:12

it very looked like the person

34:14

that I saw in the

34:16

airport. I

34:19

ask Roberto to describe the person we're looking

34:21

at. I can see

34:23

a woman that is actually acting as

34:25

a model in this situation, that is

34:27

probably doing a photo shoot. And

34:31

that is not really very

34:34

much present because I can see from her eyes

34:36

that she's just looking in

34:38

that camera without even knowing about why

34:40

she is taking those photos and those

34:43

pictures. And the fact that she was

34:45

dressed in white in that photo just

34:47

made me think that she was in

34:49

that state. Like, I am a white piece

34:51

of paper in which everyone is actually able

34:54

to write down something and make me be

34:56

whatever they want me to be. And

34:59

I see that she is

35:02

surely not

35:04

her best because one

35:06

person that is at her best is smiling and

35:09

she's not smiling right here. After

35:13

all this time, Roberto still feels

35:15

connected to Janessa. And

35:17

does he understand her? Perhaps

35:20

better than she understands herself. I

35:22

ask how he felt when he saw her or

35:25

a woman who looked like her that last time.

35:27

That time I saw the face of

35:30

a person that was actually trying so

35:32

much to convince herself that

35:34

she wasn't living that life because it

35:36

was a middle night. Like,

35:40

am I really doing this? What is going on? That's

35:43

the position I have. I

35:47

tell Roberto that I'm trying to find

35:49

Janessa so she can share her

35:51

side of the story and clear up any

35:54

confusion about her life, career,

35:56

personal relationships. I

35:58

ask if there's anything he'd like me to tell. Just

36:01

to love herself and to forgive herself for

36:03

whatever it has happened in her life and

36:06

if she really needs help to find out someone that

36:08

can really help her. I am

36:10

always in the same place. If she really wanted to

36:12

actually get to be in contact with me or text

36:15

me for even just exchange

36:18

some words, that is.

36:28

Talking to Roberto now, almost

36:30

two years since he was lost in touch

36:32

with his Janessa, it's clear that

36:34

his affection for her is still very strong.

36:37

He also believed his connection was with

36:40

the real Janessa Brazil. He

36:42

knows he was in touch with some scammers along the

36:44

way, but he is certain that

36:47

his trail eventually led to a

36:49

deep love with Janessa herself. Professor

36:52

Anshul Rege says this is the hallmark

36:55

of a successful scam. It

36:58

appears irrational or it doesn't make

37:00

sense to the outsider, but when

37:03

you're in the scam, it seems

37:05

completely natural and organic and it's

37:08

a progression of how a

37:10

relationship should be headed, right?

37:12

So when you're in it,

37:14

you don't really understand that

37:17

you're being misled or you're being lied to.

37:20

As he shared his story, there were many

37:22

times that I expected Roberto to tell me

37:25

when he'd figured it out. The

37:27

day he knew that Hannah Alex or

37:30

Janessa wasn't who she said she was. I

37:33

expected him to say that he discovered she

37:35

was actually a man living in South America,

37:38

or a woman living in Canada, or

37:41

even someone living a ferry ride away in Italy.

37:44

But he never did. According

37:47

to Anshul, it's even more

37:49

likely that Roberto's scam was being run

37:51

by a highly organized group of people,

37:54

possibly living in West Africa. It's

38:01

almost like a well-oiled machine, right? This is

38:03

what they do. This

38:06

is their nine to five, if you will. Anshul

38:09

referred to the Yahoo Boys, a group

38:11

based in Nigeria, and the Sakawa

38:13

Boys who live in Ghana. Two

38:16

networks that use similar playbooks and

38:18

have created similar systems to reel

38:20

in so many victims. In

38:23

fact, the 23-page playbook,

38:26

the How-To Guide for Scammers, was traced

38:28

back to a group in Nigeria. When

38:34

Anshul connects these scams to West Eshika,

38:37

it reminds me of something Roberta had said. It

38:40

sounded odd at the time, but

38:43

now turns out to be another piece of

38:45

this very large puzzle. He

38:47

mentioned that in one of their early conversations,

38:50

Hannah Alex told him she was living in

38:52

Ghana for a short time with her family.

38:56

A random fact that got lost

38:58

in the sea of details. She

39:00

was actually living in Ghana, and

39:03

that they had properties and blah, blah, blah. That

39:06

fact doesn't seem so random

39:08

anymore. Next

39:21

time on Love, Jennet.

39:25

I travel to Ghana to learn more about the

39:27

Jennetis scams and try to find some

39:29

of the people behind them. Love,

39:55

Jennet is an Antica and Teltar production

39:57

for the BBC World Service and CB.

40:01

I'm Hannah Jalal. Our

40:03

producers are Katrina Onstad and Laura

40:06

Regehr. Associate producer is

40:08

Hailey Choi. Sound designed by

40:10

Philip Wilson and Janine White. Executive

40:13

producers are Stuart Cox and Jago

40:15

Lee. Emily Canell is

40:17

our Coordinating Producer. Chris

40:20

Oak is Executive Producer of

40:22

CBC Podcasts. Aarif

40:24

Noorani is the Director of CBC

40:26

Podcasts. And John Manel

40:28

is the Podcast Commissioning Editor at

40:31

the BBC World Service. Thanks

40:34

for listening.