Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Hollywood 'con queen' Hargobind Tahilramani remanded in custody in the UK

A suspected con artist who allegedly impersonated top female Hollywood executives to swindle wide-eyed aspiring stars out of hundreds of thousands of dollars was remanded in custody on Friday(4) when he appeared at a central London court.

Dubbed the 'Con Queen of Hollywood', suspect Hargobind Tahilramani, 41, led investigators on a years-long, global manhunt so improbable it has even been optioned for a book deal.


Tahilramani, who is wanted in the US for offences including wire fraud and identity theft, made a brief two-minute appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court.

District judge David Robinson remanded Tahilramani in custody until another short hearing via video-link at the same court on December 30.

The next stage in the process is for the US to submit a full extradition request, he told the Indonesian, who wore a grey jumper and trousers under a black padded coat.

Among the Hollywood moguls he allegedly impersonated were Lucas film boss Kathleen Kennedy, former Sony movie chief Amy Pascal and ex-Paramount boss Sherry Lansing.

Wendi Murdoch, the former wife of Rupert Murdoch, was also allegedly aped by the master of accents, along with various male movie executives.

Victims were approached with offers of lucrative showbiz jobs and instructed to travel to Indonesia for tasks including location scouting, research and drafting screenplays, according to court documents filed in California.

Tahilramani would "use fake accents and alter his voice to sound like a woman," the documents state.

On arrival, the victims were allegedly bilked for US currency at every turn by Tahilramani and his co-conspirators, with the promised movie projects transpiring to be entirely fictional, and their expenses never reimbursed.

If targets complained or expressed doubt, Tahilramani would sometimes threaten to "dismember" the victim, the documents state.

Arrested in Britain

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 police in Manchester, northwest England, last week with the assistance of private investigators from K2 Integrity.

In a statement, 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".

That came after K2 last year issued a statement declaring the "Con Queen" was a man.

He was identified in an unsealed US court indictment following his arrest in the Britain on Thursday(3).

An FBI spokesman in San Diego, California said that he had been arrested in the UK based on "a request for his provisional arrest submitted by the US with a view towards his extradition".

HarperCollins has secured the book rights for the story to be written by former Hollywood Reporter journalist Scott Johnson.

Tahilramani, who was born in Jakarta, attended college in the US and went on to university in Illinois. It has been reported that he spent time in prison in Indonesia for embezzlement.

The Con Queen was also accused of luring people into sexual phone conversations with no financial consequences.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less