For more than a year, some of the most powerful women in entertainment — including Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy, Stacey Snider and a 'Homeland' director — have been impersonated by a cunning thief who targets insiders with promises of work, then bilks them out of thousands of dollars. The Hollywood Reporter has obtained exclusive audio recordings of the savvy imposter as victims come forward and a global investigation heats up. He was a freelance documentary photographer, 27 and eager, but not inexperienced. He'd worked in conflict zones for several prestige newspapers and magazines and shot ad campaigns for corporate clients. One day in late 2017, he opened his email to find an unusual message. The first thing he noticed was the sender's name: Amy Pascal, the former co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment. That kind of thing didn't happen every day. Hunting the Con Queen of Hollywood: Who's the "Crazy Evil Genius" Behind a Global Racket?
FBI Opens Investigation Into Hollywood's Notorious "Con Queen" FBI officials and the NYPD have opened investigations into the identity of a con artist who impersonates powerful female entertainment industry executives in order to scam industry workers, sources with knowledge of both operations tell The Hollywood Reporter. The moves come after tips began pouring in following the publication of “Hunting the Con Queen of Hollywood” in THR on July 11, which detailed a privately funded investigation of the global scam and included two voice recordings of the alleged imposter in action. The “Con Queen” has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars by impersonating female industry executives, including former Sony Pictures chair Amy Pascal, Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy and Homeland director Lesli Linka Glatter. According to sources, there is some evidence to suggest that the “Queen” may in fact be a man.
