Man accused of stealing more than 1,000 book manuscripts pleads guilty to wire fraud | 24CA News

An Italian man pleaded responsible on Friday in New York to impersonating editors and brokers so as to steal greater than 1,000 unpublished guide manuscripts belonging to authors like Margaret Atwood and the actor Ethan Hawke.

Filippo Bernardini, 30, a London resident who had been employed there by Simon & Schuster, entered his plea to 1 depend of wire fraud earlier than U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn in federal courtroom in Manhattan.

Bernardini may face greater than a 12 months in jail underneath really helpful sentencing tips at his scheduled April 5 sentencing earlier than one other decide, his lawyer Hannah McCrea mentioned.

Prosecutors mentioned that from August 2016 till his January 2022 arrest, Bernardini created faux electronic mail addresses and registered greater than 160 bogus domains to impersonate publishing professionals, in an effort to say authors’ works as his personal.

They mentioned the previous Simon & Schuster rights co-ordinator would usually substitute a decrease case “m” with an “rn,” in order that “simonandschuster” may seem as “sirnonandschuster,” for instance.

‘Insider data’ used

The stolen manuscripts included a piece by a Pulitzer Prize-winning creator, prosecutors mentioned.

Bernardini “used his insider knowledge of the publishing industry to create a scheme that stole precious works from authors and menaced the publishing industry,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan mentioned in an announcement.

McCrea, a federal public defender, declined to touch upon the plea.

Bernardini had pleaded not responsible to wire fraud and an aggravated id theft cost, following his arrest upon arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Simon & Schuster was not accused of wrongdoing.

“Protection of authors’ intellectual property is of the highest priority for Simon & Schuster,” the writer mentioned in an announcement expressing gratitude for authorities’ assist.