Actors hoodwinked in ‘Hollywood con queen’ scam

Indonesian man accused of impersonating famous names preyed on a dozen Britons, court papers show

MORE than a dozen British actors and film crew were fooled into parting with cash by a bogus producer who impersonated some of the biggest names in the industry, it has been claimed.

Alleged victims of Hargobind Punjabi Tahilramani, referred to as the “Hollywood Con Queen”, included aspiring actors, stunt men, chefs, drivers, makeup artists and film technicians.

Britons fooled by the alleged scam comprised the second largest group of victims: the majority were from the US.

Lawyers have revealed that victims were persuaded to pay large sums to cover “logistical costs” in the hope of gaining regular work or making a crucial first step in the industry.

The man accused of being behind the sophisticated scam is facing extradition to the US, with a hearing due at a London magistrates’ court this week.

Tahilramani, 41, is wanted in the US to face allegations of conspiracy to commit fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of the £1.5million scam.

Well-known figures in the entertainment industry allegedly impersonated for financial gain included Wendy Deng, Rupert Murdoch’s former wife; Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, and Sherry Lansing, former chief executive of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. Tahilramani, an Indonesian who moved to the UK five years ago, is accused of inducing his victims to pay him for facilitating non-existent work on location in Indonesia.

Court documents filed in California state that he would “use fake accents and alter his voice to sound like a woman” to approach his victims with offers of lucrative jobs, instructing them to travel to the south-east Asian country for location scouting, research and drafting screenplays”. However, on arrival they were allegedly persuaded by Tahilramani and his co-conspirators to hand over further sums to meet expenses “incurred” for the bogus projects, such as air fares and photography permits.

If they complained or voiced doubts, Tahilramani would allegedly threaten to “dismember” the victim, the court documents state.

Tahilramani was arrested by police at a hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Nov 26 2020 after a year-long investigation by the FBI, assisted by K2 Integrity, a corporate intelligence firm. Nicoletta Kotsianas, K2 Integrity’s New York-based lead investigator in the case, said the British victims included “a lot of actors, security staff – including some with a military background working in security for high net worth individuals – stunt men and chefs. It was across the board”.

The scam began in early 2013, continuing into 2020, despite the imposition of pandemic travel bans, as victims were asked instead to purchase nonexistent training videos.