'Hollywood's Conman Queen', 41, is arrested in the UK after five years impersonating Rupert Murdoch's ex Wendi Deng and Tinseltown executives to scam men into phone sex and stealing over $1 million
A suspected con artist who allegedly impersonated top female Hollywood executives to swindle wide-eyed aspiring stars out of hundreds of thousands of dollars has been arrested in Britain after a US extradition request, the FBI said Thursday.
Dubbed the 'Con Queen of Hollywood,' the suspect led investigators on a years-long, global manhunt so improbable it has even been optioned for a book deal.
He was identified in an unsealed court indictment Thursday as Hargobind Tahilramani, a 41-year-old Indonesian man.
'The defendant has been arrested in the United Kingdom based on a request for his provisional arrest submitted by the United States with a view towards his extradition,' an FBI spokesman in San Diego, California told AFP.
Among the Hollywood moguls Tahilramani allegedly impersonated were Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, former Sony movie chief Amy Pascal, and ex-Paramount boss Sherry Lansing.
In audio exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com, the conman is heard using a fake high-pitched voice to impersonate Rupert Murdoch's 's ex-wife Wendi Deng as he allegedly attempts to lure someone into the elaborate scam. He also impersonated several male Hollywood executives.
It's estimated that between $1.5 million and $2 million has been taken over the past five or six years, and that most of that has ended up in the perpetrator's pocket.
Tahilramani allegedly impersonated at least 12 Hollywood hotshots, including Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife Wendi Deng and most recently Bourne Identity and Jumper director Doug Liman
The scammer appeared to pick handsome, muscular men as his primary targets, and has even tricked some of them into having phone sex with him by asking them to read out a sex scene from a fake movie script, the victims told the podcast
For years, movie industry workers have been receiving phone calls purportedly from moguls including the former chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, the former chair and CEO of 20th Century Fox, and the president of Lucasfilm, offering them the opportunity of a lifetime shooting a blockbuster in Indonesia.
Tahilramani would 'use fake accents and alter his voice to sound like a woman,' the documents state.
When they arrive in Jakarta – and after spending thousands of dollars on fake tour guides and other scam fees – they realize the movie is a sham and the phone calls were impersonations.
If targets complained or expressed doubt, Tahilramani would sometimes threaten to 'dismember' the victim, the documents state.
The scam began as early as 2013, and continued despite global Covid travel bans to this August, when victims were instead asked to shell out for non-existent training videos.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Tahilramani was arrested by Manchester police last week with the assistance of private investigators from K2 Integrity.
Most recently, he allegedly impersonated Bourne Identity and Jumper director Doug Liman
In a statement to AFP, co-founder Jules Kroll said K2 had helped US, British and Indonesian authorities in 'bringing the individual known as the 'Con Queen of Hollywood' to justice.'
Tahilramani -- also known as Gobind Lal Tahil -- had already been 'unmasked' last month as the likely suspect in the bizarre fraud by investigative podcast 'Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen.'
The scammer appeared to pick handsome, muscular men as his primary targets, and has even tricked some of them into having phone sex with him by asking them to read out a sex scene from a fake movie script, the victims told the podcast.
But he has also targeted screenwriters, make-up artists, production crew, trainers and stuntmen.
The scammer appeared to pick handsome, muscular men as his primary targets, and has even tricked some of them into having phone sex with him by asking them to read out a sex scene from a fake movie script
Tahilramani -- also known as Gobind Lal Tahil -- had already been 'unmasked' last month as the likely suspect in the bizarre fraud by investigative podcast 'Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen'
Josh Dean, co-host of the show Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen, which revealed the alleged identity of the trickster last month, told DailyMail.com the con artist may be one of the most prolific of his kind ever identified.
'We've spoken to dozens of victims,' Dean said. 'We know hundreds have been scammed, and we've been told up to 1,000 people have fallen for some version of this.'
Dean said the scammer would impersonate up to three different people – an executive, an assistant and a lawyer – in one call, switching between impressions seamlessly, and provide reams of fake documents to convince his victims.
'The con artist is such a convincing impersonator that it just seems legit to these people,' Dean said.
'You might think this wouldn't work two times, but it's worked hundreds of times. It goes back as far as 2015, maybe even 2012.'
Tahilramani, who has been using the alias Gobind Lal, is suspected of impersonating at least 12 Hollywood hotshots, including Rupert Murdoch's ex-wife Wendi Deng; producer of 300, Watchmen, and Man of Steel Deb Snyder; Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy; Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley; former chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment Amy Pascal; billionaire film producer Gigi Pritzker; and most recently Bourne Identity and Jumper director Doug Liman.
The revelations on the podcast came after K2 last year issued a statement declaring the 'Con Queen' was a man.
He faces charges of wire fraud, identity theft and conspiracy.
HarperCollins has secured the book rights for the story to be written by former Hollywood Reporter journalist Scott Johnson.
Tahilramani allegedly impersonated producer of 300, Watchmen, and Man of Steel Deb Snyder (left) and Universal Pictures chair Donna Langley (right)
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