Suspected Manuscript Thief to Plead Guilty

In an email sent to victims connected Tuesday, the bureau of the U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York said that Filippo Bernardini, the Italian national who was arrested past twelvemonth on suspicion of stealing unpublished books, is expected to plead blameworthy to ligament fraud connected Friday.

For years, Bernardini utilized his insider cognition arsenic a rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK successful a phishing scheme. He impersonated publishing professionals by utilizing things similar tiny changes successful email addresses and manufacture shorthand. Over 5 years, helium targeted well-known authors, debut authors, and authors of lesser-known works alike with the volition of stealing their unpublished manuscripts. The FBI, who arrested Bernardini, reported that helium had gotten entree to hundreds of unpublished manuscripts by impersonating and defrauding hundreds of radical wrong the publishing industry.

Despite the apprehension and Bernardini’s expected plea, the motive is inactive unclear. The stolen manuscripts were ne'er reported to person been sold oregon adjacent to aboveground online.

Find much quality and stories of involvement from the publication satellite in Breaking successful Books.