Barbara Boothe: Last News

A fraudster known as the 'con Queen of Hollywood' impersonated well-known figures to dupe more than 300 victims out of one million US dollars by offering non-existent work in the film business, a court has heard.

K.J. Yossman Hargobind Tahilramani, the alleged “Hollywood Con Queen,” has spoken publicly for the first time after taking the stand in court on the first day of his extradition trial. The U.S. government has formally requested the self-described food blogger be extradited from the U.K. to face eight charges in California, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Tahilramani is accused of being the “mastermind” behind a $1 million scam targeting film industry professionals, in which he is alleged to have posed as dozens of mostly female Hollywood executives and their assistants in a bid to lure victims out to Jakarta in Indonesia with the promise of work. Among those he is accused of impersonating are producer Gigi Pritzker, Disney exec Dana Walden and Annapurna Pictures founder Megan Ellison (pictured above, left to right).