Mrs Eccles says that publishers have heightened security around new releases and are now loath to release copies to international partners for translation until English-language versions are released, leaving less time for the process, and literary scouts are treated with more suspicion.įor Mrs Mork the effect is partly psychological. There is relief inside the industry that a traumatic episode could soon be over. Simon + Schuster suspended Mr Bernardi after his arrest and said it was “shocked and horrified” in a statement.

The Italian had worked in several low-level positions in publishing and also as a translator, with a grasp of several languages. The arrest of Mr Bernardini came as a surprise for many within literature – some had identified their own suspects and passed names to reporters. Timeline of Sara Sharif's tragic death and aftermath after her dad and stepmum return to UK 14 September, 2023 Mother of Sara Sharif says arrest of daughter’s father and stepmother is 'a huge relief' 14 September, 2023 Opinion | I have studied the American Bully – the breed, not the owner, is the problem 11 September, 2023 The tone was often cordial, such as in expressing concern for recipients during the pandemic. The sender targeted publishers in a range of jurisdictions in native languages from Icelandic to Korean. Bestselling novelist Sally Rooney was also targeted (Photo: Faber)Įmails also showed detailed knowledge of the publishing industry, including commonly-used acronyms, and release schedules for different markets. The FBI alleges that Mr Bernardini “registered more than 160 fraudulent Internet domains” and employed hundreds of false identities. “We had situations where emails in our names were being sent to our clients, trying to get them to release manuscripts.”Įmails from the scammer showed they used the technique of slightly altering names of well-known institutions to create convincing addresses, such as substituting ‘m’ for ‘rn’ to create an account ending They also created websites using the same sleight of hand. “It was very unsettling, especially when you personally became a target,” she told i. Attorney Damian Williams wrote in a press release, according to the Times.Īs to the motivation behind the crime, literary scout Kelly Farber told the Times that the phishing scam gave access to “a huge amount of information that any publisher anywhere would be able to use to their advantage.Literary scout Catherine Eccles, of UK agency Eccles Fisher Associates, was among the victims. “This real-life storyline now reads as a cautionary tale, with the plot twist of Bernardini facing federal criminal charges for his misdeeds,” U.S. According to the Times, Bernardini does not yet have a lawyer.

He has been charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the Southern District of New York. The scheme was wide-reaching, affecting publishing companies from all over the world, the Times reports. The indictment accuses Bernardini of “impersonat, defraud, and attempt to defraud hundreds of individuals” over a period of five years, during which he allegedly registered over 160 fake internet domains.

“The safekeeping of our authors’ intellectual property is of primary importance to Simon & Schuster, and for all in the publishing industry, and we are grateful to the FBI for investigating these incidents and bringing charges against the alleged perpetrator.”Īccording to the New York Times, the thefts occurred by impersonating those in the publishing field through fake email accounts used to target authors, editors and literary agents and gain access to unpublished manuscripts of books. The employee has been suspended pending further information on the case,” Simon & Schuster said in a statement to Variety. “We were shocked and horrified on Wednesday to learn of the allegations of fraud and identity theft by an employee of Simon & Schuster UK. Simon & Schuster was not named in the indictment. According to his social media accounts, Bernardini was a rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK. A man has been arrested in connection to a phishing scam that stole and attempted to steal hundreds of unpublished book manuscripts from authors such as Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke.Īs reported by the New York Times, 29-year-old Filippo Bernardini, a citizen of Italy, was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday after touching down at New York City’s JFK Airport. NEW YORK (AP) Authorities say they’ve solved a publishing industry whodunit with the arrest Wednesday of a man accused of numerous literary heists in recent years, allegedly impersonating others in the industry to amass a veritable library of unpublished works.

Fbi arrests man unpublished manuscripts