Suspected Manuscript Thief to Plead Guilty

In an electronic mail despatched to victims on Tuesday, the workplace of the U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York mentioned that Filippo Bernardini, the Italian citizen who was arrested final 12 months on suspicion of stealing unpublished books, is predicted to plead responsible to wire fraud on Friday.

For years, Bernardini used his insider information as a rights coordinator for Simon & Schuster UK in a phishing scheme. He impersonated publishing professionals through the use of issues like small adjustments in electronic mail addresses and trade shorthand. Over 5 years, he focused well-known authors, debut authors, and authors of lesser-known works alike with the intention of stealing their unpublished manuscripts. The FBI, who arrested Bernardini, reported that he had gotten entry to a whole lot of unpublished manuscripts by impersonating and defrauding a whole lot of individuals throughout the publishing trade.

Despite the arrest and Bernardini’s anticipated plea, the motive continues to be unclear. The stolen manuscripts have been by no means reported to have been offered and even to floor on-line.

Find extra information and tales of curiosity from the e book world in Breaking in Books.