A lengthy story about Alexa Bliss impersonator(s).
There’s a story on The New York Times site from writer Tara Siegel Bernard that is connected to WWE’s Alexa Bliss. An Alexa Bliss impersonator scammed a man in his 70s out of about $1 million from his retirement savings and his granddaughter’s college fund.
Chris Mancinelli went into his 79-year-old father’s home for the first time since he passed away over the summer. There were family photos on the refrigerator, but one of the pictures was of Alexa Bliss. Chris’ father, Alfred, was convinced he was in a romantic relationship with Bliss, which led to him giving the con artist about $1 million. There were other imposters involved in the scheme.
Chris tried to get involved and he moved his father’s last $100,000 to a safe account. He was then sued by his father for doing so. He told the publication that there was nothing the family could do to convince him that he was not in a relationship with Bliss.
The actual Alexa Bliss has taken to social media on numerous occasions to warn people about sending money and/or items to those pretending to be her, as she would never ask anyone to send her those things.
It is noted in the article that the late Alfred Mancinelli and his wife lost their first child to leukemia. The child was three years old. When Alfred’s sons were nine and 14, his wife passed away. He was also forced into early retirement. Chris said his father opened up his heart to some of the scammers which may have heightened the manipulation.
Prior to the Bliss impersonator, Alfred was sending money to someone named ‘Kate,’ who claimed she had a sick four-year-old daughter. Another scammer named ‘Anna’ asked Alfred for money to help care for unwell children. Alfred had been wrapped up in these situations since 2018 but it grew worse during the pandemic. He went from $900,000 saved to $128,000. Chris estimates that most of his father’s money went to one or more Alexa Bliss imposters.
In the messages with Alfred, there were mentions of his battles with his son about the money and Vince McMahon. The fraudulent Bliss told Alfred that McMahon humiliated her after she refused his advances, which Alfred followed-up by providing financial and emotional support.
One of the impersonator’s tactics to get money from Alfred was telling him she was in the hospital for bad menstrual periods and needed money so the hospital could treat her. The scammers never chatted with Alfred via video or audio, but they’d send him trinkets in the mail and delivered a pizza to him for his birthday.
Chris sought out professional help and discovered that his father’s Google account was connected to two devices with Nigerian I.P. addresses. Chris set up a trust and financial plan to aid his father’s expenses but when that did not work, he took away the last $100,000. Alfred took legal action against Chris in February 2023. He wanted his money back in addition to interest and legal fees. When Chris gave his father the money back, it was gone in a month.
He feels if his father did not pass away, he would have continued sending money. Chris found documents which indicated that his father was prepping to sell his home. He’d also taken out personal loans and used his car and home televisions as collateral. The scammers knew a great deal about Alfred to the point that they went after his family. Chris was threatened and the scammers sent photos of Alfred to his youngest granddaughter. They demanded gift cards.
All of the granddaughters knew their grandfather was being scammed.
Alfred Mancinelli passed away after not recovering from the neck surgery he needed after a fall. Chris said his father was stressed trying to get more money for the impersonators. He stated that he loved his dad and wanted a close relationship with him.
