What is Hollywood Con Queen about and how can I watch it?

HOLLYWOOD isn’t just filled with the rich and famous; It’s also home to thousands of people looking for their big break in front of the camera or behind the scenes.

Hollywood Con Queen is the latest true crime documentary centering on one of the biggest scams to ever hit the entertainment industry and explores how an investigative journalist managed to track down the now infamous scammer.

What is Hollywood Con Queen about?

Hollywood Con Queen investigates one of the biggest scams to ever hit the film and TV industry.

For more than 10 years, one person targeted hundreds of innocent victims, whether already involved in the industry or those looking for their “big break,” the one job or role that would take their work to the next level.

Dubbed the “Hollywood Con Queen,” this person targeted freelancers, typically photographers, actors, makeup and hair artists, costume and wardrobe stylists, and others who worked in front of the camera or behind the scenes.

They personified powerful women in the industry, such as Amy Pascal, then co-president of Sony Pictures, Sherry Lansing, then CEO of Paramount, and Wendi Deng Murdoch, entrepreneur and art collector.

The scam was relatively simple: freelancers would receive a call from Hollywood Con Queen, who promised them a job on the set of a new film or TV series in Indonesia.

They were asked to provide money upfront to cover miscellaneous expenses such as acting or stunt lessons, gym memberships, beauty products, clothing, etc.

Others were also asked to pay in advance for travel and accommodations such as air tickets and hotels and were told they would be reimbursed before the project ended.

Many people didn’t see anything wrong at first – as freelancers, they were often asked to “pay first” only to have the costs covered later.

Some, however, became suspicious as communication between these so-called executives became more erratic – calls and emails arrived during the early hours of the morning, for example between 2 or 3 am, and were increasingly hostile and demanding.

Some victims even recalled being sexually harassed when the Hollywood Con Queen initiated – or attempted to initiate – phone sex.

The fraud continued to grow, drawing more and more innocent victims into a psychological game of manipulation and coercion.

The documentary then delves into how the scam was finally stopped – and how the Hollywood Con Queen was revealed – with the help of veteran investigative journalist and private investigator, Nicole Kotsianas.

How can I watch Hollywood Con Queen?

Hollywood Con Queen is an original three-part documentary series.

All three episodes debuted on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, including:

• Episode One: Mad, Mad, Mad, Genius
• Episode Two: A Different Animal
• Episode Three: Thanks for the Story

All episodes are available to stream exclusively on Apple TV+.

Currently, Apple TV+ offers new users a seven-day free trial, and a monthly subscription costs $9.99.

The documentary series is produced for Apple TV+ by Library Films.

All three episodes are directed and produced by Emmy-winning filmmaker Chris Smith.

Smith is best known for his work on:

The documentary series is based on reporting by Scott Johnson, whose articles for The Hollywood Reporter were instrumental in identifying the individual behind the scam.

Johnson’s articles also raised awareness about the scam, prompting hundreds of victims to come forward.

Johnson later turned his reporting on ‘Hollywood Con Queen’ into a 2023 best-selling book, The Con Queen of Hollywood: The Hunt for an Evil Genius.

He also served as a consulting producer for the documentary series.

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Who are the Con Queen victims?

Hollywood Con Queen operated for years, luring hundreds of victims into its scheme.

A small group of these individuals appear in the docu-series, with the first episode of The Hollywood Con Queen focusing primarily on three victims: Zory Shahanska, Will Strathmann, and Henry Wu.

Shahanska and Wu are photographers, while Strathmann is a filmmaker who fell into the Con Queen trap.

Strathmann became involved in the scam in 2017, when he received an email from who he thought was Amy Pascal.

“Pascal” asked Strathmann to go to Indonesia to “find characters to storyboard a pilot that they could pitch to Netflix,” as reported by Time.

He was repeatedly asked to go to Bali and Indonesia, and was told he would be reimbursed at a later date.

Despite never meeting “Pascal” in person, and despite only communicating with “her” via email or 2 a.m. phone calls, he continued to work, thinking he would earn his money back and more.

Overall, Strathmann says he lost more than $50,000 to the fraud.

Partners Wu and Shahanska were contacted by “Wendy Murdoch” who offered them a mission “linked to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics”, as reported by ABC news.

The pair, who were joint editors of This Life of Travel, an online travel photography website, were used to receiving proposals and assignments via phone and email.

They connected with who they thought was Murdoch, his lawyer and his assistant, signed contracts and booked flights to Indonesia, where they were instructed to photograph various places, people and events.

Like Strathmann, they were told they would be reimbursed for their travel and accommodation.

Upon disembarking, they were informed that they would have to pay additional fees – for the driver, photography licenses and other miscellaneous expenses.

The pair became suspicious when costs continued to rise, so they contacted a local friend in Jakarta.

He told them that “the same scam had been operating for years, attracting creative artists from all over the world to Indonesia – actors, film producers, makeup artists, photographers and many others – most of whom were eager to get to work.” in the entertainment industry, especially in Hollywood.”

The scammer had a knack for imitating various accents and speech mannerisms, posing as men and women, often in the same call.

Once its victims became suspicious or completely abandoned the project, Con Queen’s phone numbers, emails, and any other contact methods would disappear.

In November 2020, the person behind Con Queen was arrested in the UK.

Hargobind Tahilramani, known by the alias Gobind Tahil, was detained in Manchester in an early morning raid.

He was 41 years old at the time of his arrest, originally from Indonesia and already a convicted criminal.

On June 6, 2023, a British judge ruled that Tahilramani, aka Tahil, aka Con Queen, would be extradited to the US, where he could face trial for his crimes.

As of May 2024, he is still fighting extradition despite having scammed more than 300 American victims over the course of his decades-long scam.