Hollywood Con Queen scam

The con, which was successfully operated for several years, targets entertainment industry gig workers, who travel to Indonesia believing that they have been recruited to work on the production of a film or television show.

The target of the scam is presented with an opportunity to work on a film or television project and is encouraged to travel to Jakarta, Indonesia to scout for locations and participate in meetings.

[9][10] The perpetrator of the scam is known to impersonate female industry executives, including Amy Pascal, Deborah Snyder, Wendi Deng Murdoch, Kathleen Kennedy, and others.

[16] His attorney argued that he should not be extradited to the United States, claiming his “unique characteristics" such as “his homosexuality, his demonstrable femininity, his prior history of abuse which has affected his mental health and his histrionic personality disorder” would put him at an increased risk for suicide or violence in an American prison.

In 2020, the scam was investigated in a podcast called Chameleon: Hollywood Con Queen, produced by Campside Media and Sony Music and hosted by Josh Dean and Vanessa Grigoriadis.

[24][25] In November 2020, it was announced that HarperCollins would publish a book about the scam, authored by former Hollywood Reporter writer Scott Johnson, who previously wrote a cover story on the subject in July 2018.

Screenwriter Gregory Mandarano has written a feature film screenplay and TV pilot about the Hollywood Con Queen and is attempting to have the scripts produced.