Hollywood Con Queen scam

The "Con Queen" scam is a long-running and elaborate scam perpetrated by the so-called Hollywood Con Queen, an Indonesian impostor named Hargobind Punjabi Tahilramani who was eventually found and arrested. The con, which was successfully operated for several years, targets entertainment industry gig workers, who travel to Indonesia believing that they have been recruited to work on the production of a film or television show.

The scam targets gig workers, usually based in Los Angeles

Background

In the scam, gig workers in the entertainment industry are approached via phone or email by an individual claiming to be an executive, director, casting agent, or producer. The target of the scam is presented with an opportunity to work on a film or television project and is encouraged to travel to Jakarta, Indonesia to scout for locations and participate in meetings. When they arrive, the target is toured around various tourist destinations and cultural sites by a driver who speaks little English.^[1] Because of the heavy traffic in Jakarta, the target spends most of their time driving and is frequently told that their schedule has changed and meetings were cancelled. As the target is transported to various locations, they are forced to pay their driver fees with the promise of eventual reimbursement.^[2][3][4]

 

The skyline of Jakarta, where targets of the scam travel under the guise of participating in the production of a film.

When targets become upset or frustrated after days of cancelled meetings and driving, they often leave the country early. Throughout the process, the target communicates with the person who invited them to Jakarta, who becomes increasingly irate, demanding, or inappropriate. Targets may not realize they are the target of the scam until returning home and conducting research.^[5] On one occasion, Carley Rudd, a freelance photographer, posted a lengthy video on Instagram about her experience with the scam after returning from Indonesia. The video, which circulated widely online, has been credited with connecting targets of the scam.^[6][7] Other photographers such as Henry Wu and Zornitsa Shahanska were caught up in the scam and posted about their experience online.^[8]

On several occasions, aspiring actors were encouraged to conduct phone auditions in which they are given little time to prepare for a sex scene performed between them and the producer.^[9][10]

Perpetrator

The perpetrator of the scam is known to impersonate female industry executives, including Amy Pascal, Deborah Snyder, Wendi Deng Murdoch, Kathleen Kennedy, and others.^[11][12] Long believed to be a female, the perpetrator has been identified as Hargobind Punjabi Tahilramani, a male Indonesian national with ties to the United Kingdom.^[12][13] The perpetrator of the scam has also been known to use foreign accents and altered voices, impersonating both male and female film executives from the United States, United Kingdom, and China.^[14]

On December 3, 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of Justice announced that Tahilramani had been arrested in Manchester.^[15]

Investigations and media coverage

The "Con Queen" scam has been the subject of media attention and investigations for several years.^[16]

The Hollywood Con Queen was originally identified as Gobind Lal Tahil by screenwriter and victim Gregory Mandarano, who obtained a copy of his fake passport from a travel agency after being conned by the Con Queen over a period of six months. He is the only victim on public record to have met the Con Queen in person multiple times.^[2][17]

After Mandarano's con, which had him developing a fake fantasy film by the name of, "Shadows Below," for The China Film Group Corporation, Tahilramani changed the nature of his con and no longer met with his victims in person, restricting all of his communication to personas over the telephone.

The scam became the subject of an investigation by K2 Intelligence when they were hired by impersonated producers, but the identity of the Hollywood Con Queen was initially a mystery. However once Mandarano provided investigators with the passport and photos of Tahilramani, thanks to an investigation performed by Mike Swick, a former MMA fighter living in Thailand who was another a victim of Tahilramani's, the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an online portal in July 2019 for victims of the scam.^[18][19][20]

In 2019, filmmakers Jack Owen and Costa Karalis covered the story in a short documentary titled 'A Colourful Red' which went on to premiere at The Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes American Pavilion and was shortlisted for a Student BAFTA. The film featured interviews from several victims of the scam including Carley Rudd, Meagan Bourne, and Jord Hammond. Scott Johnson, The Hollywood Reporter lead writer who covered the story for the publication, was also featured as an expert on the case.^[21]

In early 2020 Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and former Radiolab executive producer Ellen Horne produced the first podcast about the Con Queen in episode 2, "Chameleon", of their Luminary series, "Lies We Tell."

In 2020, the scam was investigated in a podcast called Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen, produced by Campside Media and Sony Music and hosted by Josh Dean and Vanessa Grigoriadis.^[22][23] The scam was also the subject of investigations by K2 Intelligence and the FBI. In July 2019, the FBI created an online portal for victims of the scam.

In November 2020, it was announced that HarperCollins would publish a book about the scam, authored by former Hollywood Reporter writer Scott Johnson, who previously wrote a cover story on the subject in July 2018.^[24] Johnson's book "The Con Queen of Hollywood: The Hunt for an Evil Genius" published on June 6, 2023. ^[25]

The April 2, 2021 episode of Nightline was all about the Hollywood Con Queen scam, the Chameleon podcast, and the catching of Tahilramani.^[26]

In addition, the 2021 HBO Now documentary series "Generation Hustle" features the Hollywood Con Queen in Episode 1 of the first season.

Screenwriter Gregory Mandarano has written a feature film screenplay and TV pilot about the Hollywood Con Queen and is attempting to have the scripts produced.^[2]

References

1. Fleming, Mike Jr. (2020-11-19). "'Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen' Podcast Fingers Suspect In Long Running Scam — Shocker — She's A He". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
2. Grigoriadis, Vanessa; Dean, Josh (19 November 2020). "How We Unmasked the Hollywood Con Queen Suspect". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
3. Moore, Matthew. "Hollywood con queen fleeced victims with fake movie scam". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
4. Editors, Vulture (2020-10-30). "This Week in True-Crime Podcasts: Dr. Death Returns". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-11-26. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. Martinelli, Marissa (2018-08-28). "FBI Investigating Con Artist Who Impersonates Powerful Women in Hollywood". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
6. "Hollywood Freelancers Team Up to Take Down Scammer". AARP. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
7. Kassel, Nat. "Instagrammers Are Getting Scammed by a Mysterious 'Con Queen'". Vice. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
8. "How An Elaborate International Scam Is Making The Rounds Amongst Instragrammers & Photographers". This Life Of Travel. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
9. Murphy, Rhodes (2019-07-15). "Hollywood's "Con Queen" Is Now Impersonating Marvel Executives and Asking for Phone Sex". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
10. "The Con Queen of Hollywood". Unresolved. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
11. McCarthy, Tyler (2019-07-15). "FBI seeks help in finding victims of Hollywood Con Queen after Marvel Studios exec is used in the scam". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
12. Johnson, Scott (August 2019). "Hollywood's "Con Queen" Scam Artist Is Actually a Man, Investigators Say". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
13. Yossman, K. J. (2020-02-20). "Tales of a Hollywood Con Queen". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
14. Winkelman, Natalia (23 October 2020). "Hear the Notorious Hollywood Con Queen Caught in the Phone-Scam Act". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
15. Johnson, Scott (3 December 2020). ""Con Queen of Hollywood" Arrested (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
16. Johnson, Scott (11 July 2018). "Hunting the Con Queen of Hollywood: Who's the "Crazy Evil Genius" Behind a Global Racket?". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
17. "Screenwriter may have evidence that could break case of Hollywood 'Con Queen': Part 2". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
18. "Celebrity fraud: FBI hunt for 'Con Queen of Hollywood'". BBC News. 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
19. Coleman, Nancy (2019-07-16). "Sent to Indonesia by a Fake Film Executive? The F.B.I. Wants to Talk to You (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
20. Johnson, Scott (15 July 2019). "FBI Seeks More Victims of Hollywood Con Artist After Marvel Executive Targeted". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
21. "Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival". Retrieved 25 March 2021.
22. Martoccio, Angie (2020-09-30). "New Podcast Follows the Trail of Infamous Hollywood Con Artist". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
23. "New Investigative Podcast Chameleon Reveals Details on Hollywood's Biggest—and Weirdest—Scam Artist". money.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
24. Perez, Lexy (9 November 2020). "HarperCollins to Publish 'Con Queen of Hollywood' Book Based on Hollywood Reporter Article". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
25. [https://www.amazon.com/Queen-Hollywood-Hunt-Evil-Genius/dp/0063036932
26. Nightline S42E65 Friday, April 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.