An Italian citizen accused of stealing hundreds of unpublished book manuscripts – including one from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author – was arrested Wednesday afternoon when he arrived at JFK airport, prosecutors said.
Filippo Bernardini, 29, an employee at London’s Simon & Schuster UK, according to NYPost, was charged in a newly unsealed federal indictment with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft over the alleged scheme that dates back to at least August 2016, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Bernardini, who lives in London, allegedly posed as agents, editors and other publishing industry insiders to gain access to the unpublished works.
Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke were among those targeted, the Associated Press reported.
