Filippo Bernardini: an Italian admits having stolen unpublished books
Filippo Bernardini: an Italian admits having stolen unpublished books
Image source, Getty ImagesBy George WrightBBC News
Italian man admitted to stealing more than 1,000 manuscripts not published, many of which were written by well-known authors.
Filippo Bernardini posed as prominent people in the publishing industry to entice people to hand in their works.
He used his inside knowledge of the industry, having been employed by publishing giant Simon & Schuster in London.
Bernardini, 30, pleaded guilty in New York to wire fraud, but his motive was never clear.
The manuscripts were not leaked on the Internet, and no ransom demand was made.
The condemnation de Bernardini, who was arrested by the FBI in January last year, appears to explain a mystery that has baffled the literary world for years, with Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan and Sally Rooney among the novelists targeted.
Prosecutors said they registered more than 160 fake internet domains as of 2016.
Agents, publishers and Booker Prize judges have all been victims of phishing scams from a slightly modified official-looking email address...
Image source, Getty ImagesBy George WrightBBC News
Italian man admitted to stealing more than 1,000 manuscripts not published, many of which were written by well-known authors.
Filippo Bernardini posed as prominent people in the publishing industry to entice people to hand in their works.
He used his inside knowledge of the industry, having been employed by publishing giant Simon & Schuster in London.
Bernardini, 30, pleaded guilty in New York to wire fraud, but his motive was never clear.
The manuscripts were not leaked on the Internet, and no ransom demand was made.
The condemnation de Bernardini, who was arrested by the FBI in January last year, appears to explain a mystery that has baffled the literary world for years, with Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan and Sally Rooney among the novelists targeted.
Prosecutors said they registered more than 160 fake internet domains as of 2016.
Agents, publishers and Booker Prize judges have all been victims of phishing scams from a slightly modified official-looking email address...
Image source, Getty Images
