Eoin O'Brien, a 45-year-old Dublin actor, has spoken about how he was “coerced into performing simulated sex acts” in a fake Skype audition by the “con queen of Hollywood”.
O'Brien has accused Hargobind Tahilramani, a 43-year-old Indonesian food blogger, of impersonating a woman during the call.
Tahilramani now faces extradition to the United States from the United Kingdom. He is accused of being behind a $1 million scam against more than 300 victims between 2013 and 2020. He scammed industry professionals, including actors, screenwriters, and photographers.
O'Brien told the PA that he was scammed out of $15k. However, O'Brien has gotten over this awful experience in a most novel way. He wrote a feature movie script and will fulfill a lifelong dream by starring in the upcoming movie, "Kiss of the Con Queen." The movie is currently in filming and stars O'Brien, Patrick Bergin, Francis Magee, and Ravi Patel.
O'Brien's ordeal started when he was contacted by someone pretending to be Hollywood producer Deborah Snyder. She is known for working with her director husband, Zack Snyder, on films including "300" and "Watchmen." Variety reports that Tahilramani posed as many Hollywood executives including Kathleen Kennedy and Amy Pascal.
The Dublin actor believed that this audition was the chance of a lifetime. he told the PA he was pressured into going "all out" during his one-way video audition.
"I was coerced into performing simulated sex acts over Skype by the con queen in the guise of an audition," O'Brien said.
“When I discovered it wasn’t who he claimed and also a male I felt violated.”
O'Brien, who is based in Bangkok, also flew to Jakarta at his own expense. He was promised a $5k fee before he handed over thousands of dollars for "shooting permits." He had been assured that he would be reimbursed.
After four days, and having traveled to several "filming locations", O'Brien realized he had been scammed. In the middle of the night, he fled.
O'Brien said “This guy would just crush people for fun and sexually harass people, including myself, for his personal gratification...
“Posing as a female Hollywood producer, the con queen used my dreams as bait, defrauded me of thousands, coerced me into simulated sex acts over Skype in the guise of an audition, and got me to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
“Ironically, by overcoming this experience I’ve earned what he used as bait – my dream of playing a lead role in a big film.”
In Nov 2020, Tahilramani was arrested in Manchester where he was allegedly claiming that he was a "writer for Netflix." He was at a £60-a-night Aparthotel and claimed he needed 10 rooms as he was working on a project with "The Bourne Identity" director, Doug Liman.
Now, Tahilramani faces an eight-count indictment in California including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, and five counts of aggravated identity theft, carrying a maximum penalty of two years each.
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