An influencer accused of faking cancer to con an online boyfriend out of £28,000 has landed on Interpol’s Red Notice list after fleeing the country.
Luís Felipe de Oliveira is wanted by Brazilian authorities over an alleged romance scam in which he posed as a 19-year-old woman called Luana.
The social media star, known as Felipe Heystee, allegedly spent more than two years building an online relationship with a 46-year-old geographer, who believed he was helping his girlfriend pay for cancer treatment and other expenses.
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Between May 2022 and August 2024, the victim transferred around BRL 207,000 (£28,000) to Felipe.
But the influencer allegedly fled Brazil for the Dominican Republic just 24 hours after prosecutors requested his pre-trial arrest.
The 23-year-old boarded a flight from Guarulhos International Airport in the early hours of 4 March, heading to the resort town of Punta Cana.
His name and photograph were added to Interpol’s Red Notice list on 27 July, as reported by Need To Know.
Despite being on the run, Felipe remains active on social media, where he has around 2.3m TikTok followers and more than 1.5m on Instagram.
A court has ordered his accounts to be blocked, arguing they could continue generating income while he remains a fugitive.
The victim and Felipe never met in person or even had a video call during their relationship.
“The person I was messaging said she was very shy,” the geographer recalled.
He eventually became suspicious after noticing that several bank transfers were being made into accounts bearing Felipe’s name.
The deception unravelled when he carried out a reverse-image search on a photograph sent by Luana.
He discovered it actually belonged to a 16-year-old influencer, who had no connection to Felipe.
After contacting the girl’s parents, they reportedly told him their daughter did not know the suspect and suggested her photograph had been used without permission.
The geographer subsequently reported the alleged scam to police.
“I hope Felipe pays for what he did to me and other people,” he said.
The victim has also launched a civil claim seeking the return of the money, alongside BRL 20,000 (£2,700) in damages for emotional distress.
A Brazilian court has already ordered Felipe to compensate him and has frozen more than BRL 200,000 (£27,000) in assets, which could be used to reimburse the victim.
Felipe is due to face a criminal hearing next Wednesday (18 November) over alleged electronic fraud.
However, the judge has ruled that he cannot take part remotely while he remains a fugitive.
His questioning will only take place if he voluntarily hands himself in or is arrested before the hearing.
The case against Felipe is ongoing. He has not yet been convicted of the criminal charges.
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