British courts on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the extradition of Hargobind Tahilramani, an alleged conman dubbed “Hollywood’s Queen of Scams.”
Tahilramani, who is of Indonesian origin, was given the nickname for bilking film professionals of hundreds of thousands of dollars by posing as influential Hollywood women.
This virtuoso impersonator of female voices and accents is accused of relieving more than 300 people, including actors, screenwriters and photographers, of more than a million dollars (just over €900,000) in this way between 2013 and 2020.
He had been arrested in 2020 in England after being charged in November 2019 by a Californian court.
Hollywood figures whom Tahilramani impersonated include Kathleen Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm (Star Wars saga), former Sony executive Amy Pascal and former Paramount Studios CEO Sherry Lansing.
The ex-wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Wendi, was also allegedly impersonated by the suspect, who also sometimes posed as a male executive.
Film professionals in various specialities were contacted by the alleged swindler and offered prestigious, lucrative job opportunities for imaginary projects, according to the indictment. The only condition: travel to Indonesia for location scouting, documentation or preparatory work on the script.
On arrival, the victims were stripped of their dollars at the slightest opportunity by accomplices who levied “transport costs” and other prohibitive advances that were supposed to be reimbursed later by the production.
Those who complained or raised doubts were explicitly threatened by Tahilramani, who intimidated them by sending photos of their children or spoke of “dismembering” them, according to the indictment.
It is now up to UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman to order Hargobind Tahilramani’s extradition.
