A 64-year-old Pennsylvania man lost $42,700 to a scammer who posed as WWE star Rhea Ripley.
Pennsylvania State Police in Kittanning released details of the case, which WPXI-TV reported on Thursday. The fraud took place in March, with the scammer using Ripley’s identity to get the money from the victim, though police haven’t said how the scheme was carried out.
A public information officer said the victim refused to cooperate with the investigation, and no arrests have been made.
This isn’t the first time someone has used a WWE star’s identity to run a scam. In 2024, 79-year-old Alfred Mancinelli lost roughly $1 million in savings after falling for multiple online scams, including one where someone posed as Alexa Bliss. Mancinelli believed he was in a relationship with Bliss and used both his retirement savings and his granddaughter’s college fund.
Ripley had no involvement in the Pennsylvania case, and her name and identity were used without her knowledge by whoever carried out the fraud.