Before AI meant you could impersonate someone’s voice with just a snippet of audio, con artists needed actual skill to impersonate famous figures. Take Hargobind Tahilramani, who allegedly impersonated such powerful Hollywood women as Amy Pascal, Kathleen Kennedy, and Wendi Deng Murdoch. Now, it’s a documentary from Tiger King’s Chris Smith.
The scam artist dubbed “the Con Queen of Hollywood” sent victims to Indonesia, then extracted cash for what seemed like normal expenses, promising reimbursements. The reimbursements never appeared. Scott Johnson at The Hollywood Reporter first broke the story in 2018, then followed it, eventually writing a book. The Apple TV Plus documentary is based on that work. It premieres on May 8th.
In 2020, T...
