New to Apple TV, the Hollywood Con Queen, is an astonishing tale of deception, manipulation, and intrigue that rocked the US film industry. The elaborate scam, which spanned ten years, targeted hundreds of aspiring professionals chasing the Hollywood dream.
What happened in the Hollywood Con Queen?
The saga began with the impersonation of some of Hollywood’s most influential women. Posing as senior executives and prominent producers, the con artist targeted Hollywood hopefuls in a scam that wouldn’t look out of place in a blockbuster movie script.
Those impersonated included Sherry Lansing, CEO of Paramount Pictures, Amy Pascal, the co-chair of Sony Pictures and Wendi Deng Murdoch, a high-profile businesswoman (and former wife of media mogul – Rupert Murdoch).
To convince would-be victims they were the real deal, the imposter would regularly conduct elaborate telephone interviews for high-profile projects, duping aspiring professionals and in some cases established individuals into believing that this was their ‘big break’.
Hollywood dream turned nightmare
After gaining the victims’ trust, the Hollywood Con Queen would then exploit them for personal and/or financial gain. In some cases, victims experienced sexual harassment, in other cases, they were coerced into handing over money for bogus opportunities.
Common preliminary ‘expenses’ included money for additional acting lessons or personal trainers. As ‘projects’ progressed, costs involved travel expenses such as visas, airfares, and hotel stays. These payments, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, were wired to overseas accounts, making the money difficult to trace.
Over the years, multiple reports of similar experiences pointed to a single perpetrator orchestrating and repeating the same elaborate scam. Despite efforts by law enforcement agencies and private investigators to apprehend the scammer, the Hollywood Con Queen remained elusive for more than a decade.
Who is the Hollywood Con Queen and where are they now?
Apple TV revealed the Hollywood Con Queen as an Indonesian man named Hargobind Tahilramani. The series, based on the book ‘The Con Queen of Hollywood: The Hunt for an Evil Genius’, saw the author – Scott Johnson – track Tahilramani down to the UK where he was trying to carve out a career as an ‘influencer’.
In the documentary, Johnson takes viewers through the research for his book, and ultimate meeting with Tahilramani, whilst a private investigator – Nicole Kotisianas – shares her own investigation which she later handed over to the FBI. The FBI subsequently arrested Tahilramani in Manchester, England in November 2020.
Tahilramani remained in custody in the UK until June 2023, when a judge ruled that he could be extradited to the US. He currently remains in the UK, where he is fighting extradition, for several charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Jessica Hampson, CEO at CEL Solicitors, said: “The Hollywood Con Queen serves as a cautionary tale, reminding individuals to be vigilant of unsolicited approaches made online. And whilst the competitive world of entertainment lends itself to this type of scam it’s important to remember these cases aren’t confined to Hollywood.
“We see lots of job scams, often across far less high-profile industries. They typically involve work-from-home roles with tasks such as reviewing products online. The catch is often training materials or other set-up costs which people pay in advance – ultimately losing their hard-earned cash to scammers. Our advice would be to really scrutinise and where possible verify job offers, especially those originating online.”
