Athlete discovers model girlfriend scammed him out of R12m in 15 years

Unfortunately, this isn't the first-ever catfish case and it certainly won't be the last.

As human beings, we tend to be trusting and most of us probably wish we could see more of the good in people, as opposed to becoming cynical and skeptical.

However, one must not be too naive or it might come to bite you in the butt.

One Italian volleyball player had to learn this the hard way when he found out his longterm girlfriend had been keeping the biggest secret from him.

Roberto Cazzaniga is a professional athlete from Milan, Italy and he had believed that he had been in a relationship with Maya, a Brazilian model who he had met over the phone many years ago.

A "mutual friend" named Manuela had introduced 'Maya' to Roberto and provided pictures as evidence of her existence.

Since then the two were in a long-distance relationship.

The couple have never met face-to-face but that didn't stop Roberto from falling in love and getting engaged to the "model". He told local media that he had sent her extravagant gifts, like an Alfa Romeo Mito, and provided her with financial assistance for years as she had a heart condition for which she needed to receive treatment.

In the 15 years the couple were together he claims to have spent over R12.6-million on her.

His friends and teammates had started to show concern and finally Roberto decided to go to the Italian authorities and they revealed that he had indeed been a part of a major scam.

The friend that had first introduced him to his girlfriend had apparently shown him pictures of Brazilian Victoria Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio, who he was definitely not dating.

There aren't many details about the scammer, except that she has been identified as only 'Valeria' and that she is a resident on the island of Sardinia, in the Mediterranean.

She's been questioned by the media but has denied being involved and says that her answers don't matter because no one would believe her anyway.

Luckily the case is now active and being handled by the authorities.

And most importantly Roberto will be able to keep his money to himself and spend it however he wants.

Another sad but important lesson learnt.

In case you still can't wrap your head around this catfish reveal, you might enjoy this compilation courtesy of the infamous MTV show - 'Catfish':

Main image courtesy of @SouDePMW/Twitter