A 55-year-old American woman says she lost more than $10,000 to a scammer who used artificial intelligence to pose as rock star Jon Bon Jovi in a 10-month online romance that a documentary team later traced to Lagos, Nigeria.
Leslie Pickett, a mortgage lender from North Louisiana who has been a Bon Jovi fan since she was 14, shared her story in an interview with Business Insider and in the National Geographic special "Super Scam Me," which was released on October 17, 2026.
How the scam began
The contact began in late 2024, when Pickett commented on a post on Bon Jovi's verified Instagram page. Within minutes, she received a message from an unverified account using the singer's image, according to Fox News.
The person behind the account told her the real Bon Jovi wanted to connect with fans more personally, but that the account would be shut down if his management found out. Pickett said she received personalised videos on request and took part in a live video call, and became convinced she was speaking to the singer. It was reported that the videos were generated using AI.
Requests for money escalate
For about seven months, the impostor did not ask for money, according to the documentary's host, journalist Mariana van Zeller. The requests began after a sold-out Bon Jovi concert in Nashville, Pickett said. She was told she was paying for a meet-and-greet and later for "security clearance."
During one video call, she tried to enlarge the picture and the man hung up, Pickett said. He later texted that it was a security breach because his people thought she was trying to record the call to blackmail him. A larger bitcoin payment was demanded after a supposed security violation prevented them from meeting.
Investigation and impact
Pickett said she went to the police, who helped her calculate that she had lost $10,000. She said she fell behind on bills and that her home came close to foreclosure.
She then contacted van Zeller, whose team worked with a former hacker to set a trap that led the scammer to ask for more bitcoin and revealed his IP address. The address traced to a house in Lagos, Nigeria, which the team confirmed using Google Earth. No suspect has been named or arrested, however.
Nigerian authorities pursue online fraud
The case comes as Nigerian authorities pursue online fraud. The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre said on October 24 that it arrested three suspects in Lekki, Lagos, on October 14 over alleged celebrity impersonation, following intelligence from the UK's National Crime Agency. Police said one suspect allegedly used AI voice cloning and deepfake technology.
In January, Airport Police arrested a 20-year-old, Essien Emmanuel Akpama, over an alleged celebrity scam that defrauded victims in the US of more than ₦1 billion. Pickett now advocates for scam victims and has urged people to be wary of unverified accounts claiming to be celebrities.
