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.
