DeepfakeHigh
L.A. Woman Reportedly Defrauded of $81,000 and $350,000 Condo Proceeds in Romance Scam Using Purported Deepfake Videos of Actor Steve Burton
- Occurred
- Oct 1, 2024
- Published
- Aug 26, 2025
- Source
- AI Incident Database
Summary
In October 2024, Los Angeles resident Abigail Ruvalcaba was reportedly targeted in a romance scam using purported AI-generated deepfake videos and voice impersonations of actor Steve Burton. Believing she was in a relationship, she allegedly sent over $81,000 in cash, gift cards, and crypto, then sold her condo for $350,000 and transferred proceeds to the scammer. Her daughter intervened in February 2025, but the family now reportedly faces bankruptcy and legal battles to recover losses.
Developers
- Deepfake technology developers
- Synthetic audio generation technology developers
Deployers
- Unknown scammers impersonating Steve Burton
- Scammers
Harmed parties
- Steve Burton
- General public
- Family of Abigail Ruvalcaba
- Abigail Ruvalcaba
Classification
Category confidence: 95%
Severity confidence: 90%
Rationale: Deepfake technology used in romance scam caused significant financial loss and legal consequences.
Classifier: Qwen/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B-FP8