Scammers Impersonating WWE's Alexa Bliss Bilk Elderly Retiree Out Of About $1 Million

With the rise of the internet over the last 30 years, online scams have become disgustingly prevalent, with older people often becoming targets of individuals looking for easy money. A recent report from the New York Times detailed one particularly heinous case, with one or more scammers posing as WWE star Alexa Bliss and others to con one retiree out of roughly $1 million.

The story revolves around a man named Alfred Mancinelli, who was contacted online by one or more people pretending to be Bliss. Over the course of years, Mancinelli was convinced to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to these scammers, believing that he was in an online relationship with Bliss and that she needed financial assistance.

Mancinelli's conversations with the Bliss imposter(s) often featured lies about her relationship with Vince McMahon, including claims that McMahon was continually "humiliating her" after she denied sexual advances from the then-WWE boss. The scammer was reportedly working with multiple associates, and one of the primary ways they would siphon money from Mancinelli was by claiming that Bliss was in the hospital and needed financial assistance for treatment.

Mancinelli's son, Chris, attempted to intervene at various points, even going as far as to move his father's last remaining $100,000 into a bank account that he couldn't touch. However, this caused Alfred to sue his son in an attempt to gain access to the funds, leading to Chris giving in and their relationship fracturing.

As a result, Alfred sent the last of his money to the scammers before he died from complications after having neck surgery. Following his death, Chris found evidence that Alfred was even planning on selling his home to send more money to the person he thought was Bliss.

In addition to the story of the Mancinelli family, the report details other cases of online scamming, which can target anyone rather than just older folks. However, the outlet noted that older people are often more susceptible to these scams.

The WWE star has yet to publicly comment on the story, though Bliss has consistently warned fans about imposter accounts on social media for years. As noted in the NYT story, Bliss has been a frequent choice for scammers searching for a famous persona to adopt online.