British justice on Tuesday gave the green light to the extradition of Hargobind Tahilramani, an alleged con artist nicknamed “the queen of Hollywood scams” for having extracted hundreds of thousands of dollars from film professionals by being pass for influential women in Hollywood.
Of Indonesian origin, this virtuoso in the imitation of female voices and accents is accused of having thus relieved more than a million dollars of more than 300 people, including actors, screenwriters and photographers, between 2013 and 2020.
He was arrested in 2020 in England after his indictment in November 2019 by a California court.
Among the Hollywood personalities whose identity Hargobind Tahilramani impersonated are Kathleen Kennedy, the big boss of Lucasfilm (Star Wars saga), the former head of Sony Amy Pascal and the ex-CEO of Paramount studios Sherry Lansing.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s ex-wife Wendi was also reportedly impersonated by the suspect, who also sometimes posed as male executives.
Film professionals in different specialties were contacted by the alleged scammer and offered prestigious and lucrative job opportunities for imaginary projects, according to the indictment. The only condition: to go to Indonesia for location scouting, documentation or preparatory work on the scenario.
Upon their arrival, the victims were relieved of their dollars at the slightest opportunity by accomplices who took “transportation costs” and other prohibitive advances supposed to be reimbursed later by the production.
Dupes never saw the color of their money again, and those who complained or had doubts were explicitly threatened by Hargobind Tahilramani, who intimidated them by sending them pictures of their children or talked about “dismembering” them, according to the report. indictment.
To oppose his extradition to the United States, his lawyers argued that the conditions of detention in this country would violate human rights and highlighted the impact on his health that a detention close to the isolation.
It is now up to British Home Secretary Suella Braverman to order Hargobind Tahilramani’s extradition.
Contacted by AFP, the Home Office said it did not want to comment on an individual case.
The publishing house HarperCollins had bought the rights to this incredible story, written by Scott Johnson, a former journalist for the Hollywood Reporter. The book goes on sale Tuesday.
2023-06-06 18:51:10
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