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It was the dream finalizing for the owner of an unknown Nottingham gallery - an exhibit including the work of Hollywood actor-turned-artist Pierce Brosnan, who would also participate in to meet fans.

But the gallery's owner has actually revealed how her livelihood and credibility were 'destroyed' after the Pierce Brosnan with whom she invested months the exhibit of a life time turned out not to be the Bond star however a 'deepfake'.

Simone Simms has promoted the very first time about how she fell for the intricate synthetic intelligence (AI) fraud which resulted in her losing her ₤ 30,000 Long Eaton gallery.

Ms Simms told The Mail on Sunday she was 'villainised' after offering ₤ 20,000 worth of tickets to art fans with the guarantee of meeting 71-year-old Brosnan, just to discover she had actually been deceived.

Scammers used AI to produce a convincing similarity of Mr Brosnan video-calling her from his ₤ 80million house in Hawaii.

Ms Simms recalled 'how genuine' he appeared on Zoom and how she 'squealed with enjoyment that he remained in my living-room talking to me' before taking the bait and sending out the fraudsters ₤ 3,000 for 'shipping charges' for the art.

Her nightmare started when she contacted what she believed to be Mr Brosnan's legitimate Facebook page at the start of 2023 and asked if he would exhibit his paintings at her venue.

She then states she was gotten in touch with by what she thought was the star and around 200 messages were exchanged in between them on the Telegram messaging app, including a number of voice notes talking about the exhibition.

The AI deepfake of 007 star Pierce Brosnan that duped art gallery owner Simone Simms

Mrs Simms (pictured, left) came down with a scam that led to her losing her ₤ 30,000 art gallery

More than 20,000 tickets were sold with the guarantee of conference 71-year-old Brosnan, who scammers had actually deepfaked to look like he was calling Mrs Simms from his ₤ 80million home in Hawaii

A Pierce Brosnan painting. Mrs Simms exchanged 200 messages by means of Telegram with who she believed was the Bond actor

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In one audio message, listened to by The Mail on Sunday, a voice with Mr Brosnan's distinctive Irish accent goes over the forthcoming exhibit.

'Simone, it's Pierce Brosnan here, how's it going? Just wanted to apologise for not being able to establish a meeting,' the voice says.

'I've been overloaded recently. Please let your team know that I genuinely appreciate the invitation to the art exhibit.

'I have high expectations it will be a huge success.'

In a subsequent video call, Mr Brosnan's image appeared on the screen however the noise was off. Messages from the individual on the other side of the phone claimed there was a technological problem.

Two of Ms Simms's pals were also in the video meeting, one of two Ms Simms thought she had had with Brosnan, and were both deceived, insisting she was not an 'moron'.

One of them, artist Neil Adcock, said: 'It looked like his authentic face. He said his son had set it up for him. He said the noise problem was on our end. It carried on for a while.'

Pierce Brosnan at the Art Miami VIP opening in Miami Florida

After the phony event was reserved, Mr Brosnan put out a declaration damning the gallery, insisting he 'would never ever charge for a meet and greet'

The real Pierce's artwork. Mrs Simms advertised ₤ 500 'fulfill and greet' tickets with the deepfake Mr Brosnan

Another painting the genuine Mr Brosnan. Mrs Simms states she wants the star would acknowledge her as a victim rather than a villain

Others have reported being gotten in touch with by a phony Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan. Pictured: Among the real Mr Brosnan's paintings

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Meanwhile, after Ms Simms reserved and marketed her program, the genuine Mr Brosnan saw an advertisement for the exhibit featuring his art online and issued a declaration damning the gallery, insisting he 'would never charge for a fulfill and greet'.

His legal representatives sent her an immediate cease-and-desist letter in November 2023, three days after she promoted the ₤ 500 VIP meet-and-greet tickets.

A 'frightened' Ms Simms understood her error and tearfully recalled: 'It was the worst time of my life and it tainted my track record.

'Pierce hurt me by issuing the declaration. He must have done more research study before he did due to the fact that he would realise I was just a fan connecting however he villainised me and that's where it started to fail.

'I wish he would acknowledge me as a victim and not as a villain. He needs to tell the general public about what truly happened and set the tone.

'I do not hate him, accc.rcec.sinica.edu.tw because he is a victim too. People abused his photo. If I understood it wasn't him, I would never have actually established the exhibit or sold the tickets.'

A photo by Piers Brosnan portraying a green location on the coast

Ms Simms reimbursed the ₤ 20,000 in tickets but was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the incident left her reputation in tatters. Pictured: A painting by Pierce Brosnan

One of the real Pierce Brosnan's paintings illustrating a female lying down

As soon as she realised she had actually been duped, Ms Simms reimbursed the ₤ 20,000 in tickets but was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the legend left her credibility in tatters, with lots of still thinking she had tried to fraud them.

Others have reported being contacted by a fake Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan, asking which of his films is their preferred before requesting for cash.

It comes as last month The Mail exposed how a divorced female was duped into turning over ₤ 700,000 to a fraudster impersonating Brad Pitt and requested money to fund his urgent kidney cancer treatment.

Mr Brosnan has actually been approached for comment.

NottinghamPierce BrosnanHawaii