Italian player falls for scam and spends 15 years thinking he was dating Alessandra Ambrosio

• Player admitted he got into debt after discovering he was cheated
• He took out loans to help people responsible for the scam with alleged heart problems
• Truth was revealed by a TV program that gathered evidence after a request from the athlete's family

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An Italian volleyball player spent 15 years believing he was dating a Brazilian model from a distance Alessandra Ambrosio after meeting someone online who used photos of her, but identified herself as Maya. During this period, Roberto Cazzaniga handed over 700 thousand euros (R$4,3 million) to the embezzler, who was asking for financial help to pay for treatments for alleged heart problems.

“I have so many debts, it's not easy to 'wake up from a coma'”, said Roberto, in tears.

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The truth was revealed this Tuesday by a television program on “Mediaset”, which gathered evidence that the man was being deceived at the request of the athlete's family, who were worried about him and suspicious of his virtual girlfriend. According to the portal “Il Fatto Quotidiano“, Roberto even took out loans to send the money requested by his fake girlfriend.

“One day he was in his room, in the dark. I see him crying, I ask him what's wrong with him and he tells me he fell in love, but this woman is in the ICU to have a heart operation”, recalled Danilo, Roberto's brother.

Alleged friend of the victim helped carry out the scam

According to local press, a supposed friend of Roberto participated in the coup. In fact, it was she who would have introduced the victim to the scammer, a resident of Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean. The embezzler was identified by the Italian media only as Valeria.

After the TV broadcast unmasking the fake girlfriend, Roberto went to the police to file a complaint. The case will be investigated.

When contacted by “Mediaset”, Valeria denied involvement in the coup, saying she was a friend of “Maya”. The report asked why she received the money from Roberto, to which the accused replied: “Anyway, whatever I say, I don’t think you believe me.” (The globe)