Title: The Hollywood Con Queen Scammer Revealed: Where is Hargobind Tahilaramani Now?
Who is Hargobind Tahilaramani? Unraveling the Hollywood Con Queen Scandal
According to the AARP, “Americans reported losing a record-breaking $6.1 billion to fraud in 2021 — skyrocketing from more than $3.3 billion the previous year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).” People react to being scammed in a variety of ways which range from screaming, crying, or going into a deep numbing shock. By far the most common response is self-hatred and shame. Many people blame themselves for being duped.
While it’s hard to make someone in that situation understand how this is not their fault, it’s important to note that con artists are predators. It would be like blaming the gazelle for falling prey to the lion. The fraudster is practiced at what they do, while each victim is probably new to falling for their bulls—. One of the most prolific scammers is a man named Hargobind Tahilaramani, who would later be known as the Hollywood Con Queen. Where is he now? Here’s what we know.
Where is Hargobind Tahilaramani now? He’ll be in the United States at some point.
Tahilaramini’s years of scamming are so complicated, it would take several articles as well as a book and an Apple TV Plus show just to sort them out. Luckily all of that is available (well, the show is available to stream starting May 8). He was dubbed the Hollywood Con Queen, and over the course of several years, he impersonated top-level executives like Kathleen Kennedy (Star Wars) and Amy Pascal (Challengers).
In June 2023, Variety reported that Tahilaramini would be extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom where he faces charges of “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.” While confirming his extradition, District Judge Paul Goldspring at Westminster Magistrates Court in London said, “I found him to be dishonest and manipulative and I treat with caution his claim that he has been persecuted by his own family (including being declared dead and being subjected to gay conversion therapy).”
Tahilaramini’s attorneys attempted to block the extradition and cited poor prison conditions in the United States as their reason, per The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet obtained his lawyers’ defense document, noting that the bulk of it “outlined an argument that the U.S. prison system would unduly subject Tahilramani to severe conditions in which he would be targeted for his homosexuality, and that these conditions would exacerbate his existing suicidal tendencies, creating a ‘substantial risk,’ according to one physician, that he would ultimately commit suicide.
What did Hargobind Tahilaramani do?
On Nov. 26, 2020, Tahilaramani was arrested by “police in the northern English city of Manchester,” per The Hollywood Reporter. This put an end to investigations by the FBI along with private investigators from K2 Integrity (formerly K2 Intelligence), a corporate security firm, that dragged on for years.
Before his arrest, Tahilaramani was masquerading as food blogger. During that time, he also impersonated Hollywood executives and bilked victims out of $1 million. How did he do this? He contacted struggling people in the entertainment industry and “posed as a variety of well-known female Hollywood executives, their assistants, and even their relatives in a bid to lure victims out to Indonesia with the promise of work,” per Variety. This worked on over 300 individuals.
They were required to pay their own expenses which included booking flights and handing over large sums of money to chauffeurs who were tasked with driving them around, supposedly before meeting these executives. Unfortunately some of the victims traveled to Indonesia multiple times before realizing they were being swindled.