--- title: "In Brazil, construction worker sells all property to meet 'beloved' who turned out to be an AI avatar" description: "49-year-old Brazilian construction worker Edimar Martins sold all his property and traveled for 36 hours to Belo Horizonte to meet his online 'beloved' Jessica. It turned out the woman does not exist — her image was created using AI." date: 2026-10-20T00:14:05.108Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/brazil-worker-sells-property-ai-avatar tags: [brazil, ai-generated-person, online-romance-scam, belo-horizonte, deepfake, internet-safety] author: "Roman V." publisher: "XAB.info" --- # In Brazil, construction worker sells all property to meet 'beloved' who turned out to be an AI avatar ![Comparison of photos of Brazilian construction worker Edimar Martins and an artificial intelligence-generated avatar of a young woman](https://xab.info/media/2026/10/20/brazilia-stroitel-prodal-imushchestvo-iz-za-ii-vozlyublennoi/brazilia-stroitel-prodal-imushchestvo-iz-za-ii-vozlyublennoi-1.webp) ## Key Points - 49-year-old construction worker Edimar Martins sold all his property and traveled 36 hours to Belo Horizonte to meet online acquaintance 'Jessica' - Radio station Itatiaia reported that Jessica is an AI-generated virtual persona, not a real person - The profile creator stated he never personally communicated with Edimar and launched the account to advertise products - According to the radio, two other men had previously fallen victim to similar AI avatars in the same city - The Belo Horizonte city administration compensated Edimar for the cost of his return ticket In the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state), 49-летний construction worker Edimar Martins lost all his belongings after believing an online romance with a young blonde named Jessica. The man sold all his property, boarded a bus, and traveled for 36 hours across approximately 2,000 kilometers to meet a woman who claimed she lived alone on a farm and promised him 'royal conditions' for living together. Upon arriving in the city, Edimar discovered that Jessica did not exist: her photos and videos had been generated using artificial intelligence. The local radio station Itatiaia reported on the incident on October 19, 2026. ### Online dating and promises of 'royal life' According to Edimar Martins, he met Jessica on the internet. The woman introduced herself as a lonely blonde living on a farm in Minas Gerais and invited him to visit her. During their correspondence, she convincingly described the prospects of living together, promising 'royal conditions.' The man, according to his own account, believed in the sincerity of his interlocutor and made a decision to radically change his life: he sold off all his property to free up funds and psychologically 'start with a clean slate' in a new place. ### 36 hours on a bus and searching through photos The bus ride from Edimar's home to Belo Horizonte took 36 hours. Upon arriving in the city, the man faced his first major problem: he did not have 'Jessica's' exact address. Not knowing where to go, Edimar began showing the woman's photographs to passersby on the streets in the hope that someone would recognize her and show him the way. Having achieved no results, he turned to a local radio station, where he was told the truth: Jessica was not a real person, but a virtual persona created using artificial intelligence technologies. ### Profile creator denies personal contact The person behind the creation of 'Jessica's' account stated in a conversation with journalists that he had never personally communicated with Edimar Martins. According to him, the man misunderstood the videos posted on the profile and mistook words addressed to someone else for a personal proposal meant specifically for him. The anonymous creator also reported that the profile was launched solely for commercial purposes — to build an audience and advertise products. Thus, according to his version, no romantic or even business dialogue ever existed between him and Edimar. ### Not the first case: the city compensates expenses According to Radio Itatiaia, Edimar's story is not unique: previously, two other men, believing similar virtual personas, had also arrived in Belo Horizonte hoping to meet their 'beloveds.' Following the incident with Edimar Martins, the city administration covered the cost of his return bus ticket home. The case attracted the attention of local and federal media and once again raised the issue of the growing threat posed by AI-generated content, which in the context of the mass proliferation of neural networks is becoming virtually indistinguishable from real people. ### A lesson for users: verify before you believe Experts commenting on such stories emphasize that image and video generation technologies have reached a level where a fabricated character can sustain multi-day correspondence, answer questions, and even 'call' in a video chat. In Edimar Martins' case, the key factor was a combination of circumstances: emotional vulnerability, lack of an exact address, and a willingness to sacrifice property for a promised future. The story became a clear example of why, before making any serious decisions based on online dating, one must recheck information through independent sources and, if possible, conduct real-time video communication. ## Accounts differ ### The nature of communication between Edimar and the creator of 'Jessica's' profile - **Edimar Martins (according to his account given in the article):** He met Jessica on the internet, she told him she lived alone on a farm, invited him over, and promised 'royal conditions' for living together; based on this, he sold his property and arrived. ([zamin.uz](https://zamin.uz/ru/mir/224984-v-brazilii-muzhchina-lishilsya-vsego-iz-za-sozdannoy-iskusstvennym-intellektom-zhenshchiny.html)) - **The anonymous creator of 'Jessica's' profile:** He never personally communicated with Edimar; the man misunderstood the videos posted on the profile and mistook words addressed to someone else for a personal proposal. The profile was launched to advertise products and gain subscribers. ([zamin.uz](https://zamin.uz/ru/mir/224984-v-brazilii-muzhchina-lishilsya-vsego-iz-za-sozdannoy-iskusstvennym-intellektom-zhenshchiny.html)) *Where they agree:* Edimar Martins actually arrived in Belo Horizonte believing he was meeting a real person; 'Jessica's' profile was created using AI. ## Fact-Check & Sources - [В Бразилии мужчина лишился всего из-за созданной искусственным интеллектом женщины – Zamin.uz, 19.10.2026](https://zamin.uz/ru/mir/224984-v-brazilii-muzhchina-lishilsya-vsego-iz-za-sozdannoy-iskusstvennym-intellektom-zhenshchiny.html) - The only available source. All facts of the article are stated strictly according to the text of zamin.uz. Caveat: the version of the profile creator (denial of personal contacts) is not confirmed by an independent source; Edimar Martins' words are also not verified by a second witness. ## FAQ ### Who is Edimar Martins and what happened to him? Edimar Martins is a 49-year-old construction worker from Brazil. He met a woman named Jessica online, sold all his property, and took a 36-hour bus ride to Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais state) to meet her. Upon arrival, it turned out that Jessica does not exist — her image was created using AI. ### How did Edimar find out that Jessica wasn't a real person? Not finding the exact address, Edimar turned to a local radio station. The radio staff informed him that Jessica was a virtual persona generated by artificial intelligence. ### Why was 'Jessica's' account created? According to the anonymous profile creator, the account was launched to increase the number of subscribers and advertise products. He claimed there was no personal relationship with Edimar. ### Were there other victims of similar AI avatars? Yes. According to Radio Itatiaia, two other men had previously believed similar virtual personas and traveled to Belo Horizonte. ### What did the city authorities do after the incident? The Belo Horizonte city administration compensated Edimar Martins for the expenses of his return ticket home.