“Con Queen of Hollywood” Faces London Courts & Extradition for Allegedly Defrauding Star-Struck Actors
With a story juicy enough to be a hit movie, the secret identity of the infamous “Con Queen of Hollywood” was revealed in a London courtroom to be an Indonesian man, Hargobind Tahilramani, 41.
Nicknamed the “Con Queen of Hollywood” because of his alleged scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from hopeful actors, Tahilramani is now facing possible jail time for his alleged defrauding of numerous actors.
In a case involving now London and Hollywood, the alleged con artist was arrested in Manchester, England, by police and private investigators and has been charged with wire fraud, identity theft and conspiracy. By the time he was captured, Tahilramani had been chased around the globe for years by investigators in a sensational cat-and-mouse game worthy of a Hollywood film.
The Indonesian defendant is accused of swindling eager actors to hand over money by impersonating powerful, female Hollywood entertainment leaders.
As part of the purported scheme that began around 2013, Tahilramani impersonated show-biz female honchos such as Wendy Deng, the former wife of Rupert Murdoch; Amy Pascal, Sony Movie Chief; Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm and Sherry Lansing, the former head of Paramount.
The FBI had been pursuing the alleged con man, and the United Kingdom arrested the suspect with a plan to extradite him to the US. The full extradition is expected to be completed in January.
Tahilramani is said to be a powerful mimic, and his schemes included impersonating not only Hollywood women executives but also their male counterparts.
The California court documents say Tahilramani targeted numerous showbiz people, who were "approached with offers of lucrative showbiz jobs and instructed to travel to Indonesia for tasks including location scouting, research and drafting screenplays.”
During his wooing of hopeful actors, the “Con Queen of Hollywood” used his own acting talents, faking accents and using the names of powerful Hollywood executives.
The victims of the fraud traveled to Indonesia, where they were forced to make cash payments to secure parts in movies that did not exist. It is alleged that when no movie projects appeared and the victims complained, some were threatened with dismemberment.
The FBI said that once the actors were in Indonesia and the pandemic caused travel bans, the scheme morphed into a new promise of “Training Videos” by Tahilramani and his cohorts.
Now, with the talented “Con Queen of Hollywood” about to face a California courtroom after his extradition, there is a new twist in the case.
News outlets are reporting Harper Collins has bought the rights to his story and has hired Hollywood Reporter Scott Johnson to write the book.
If found guilty, Tahilramani will serve time in prison, but his larger-than-life story seems destined to be headed toward a Hollywood ending. As to who will play the part of “Con Queen of Hollywood” in a film, it’s anyone’s guess.
