Imposter who stole 1,000 unpublished manuscripts enters guilty plea

• Bernardini’s listed federal public defender did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
• The letter “m” would be replaced with “r” and “n” next to each other — reading “rn” — in many cases.
• Bernardini will make restitution payments of $88,000.

Authorities claim that an Italian man engaged in a complex conspiracy to steal authors’ unpublished works, but the individual pleaded guilty on Friday, according to the prosecution.

Between August 2016 and January 2022, Filippo Bernardini, a former employee of Simon & Schuster UK, stole more than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

He used phoney email accounts to mimic real persons in the literary community, according to the office. The impersonators included scouts, publishing houses, and talent agencies.

According to the prosecution, Bernardini, 30, admitted guilt to one count of mail fraud. The court will decide the sentence, but according to the plea deal, the recommended penalty ranges from 15 to 21 months in jail.

Bernardini’s listed federal public defender did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

According to an indictment, a Pulitzer Prize winner who was deceived sent Bernardini a copy of their unpublished book. Bernardini achieved this by pretending to be a well-known editor. The document did not include the names of the author or editor.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said that Filippo Bernardini “used his insider knowledge of the publishing industry to develop a scheme that stole priceless works from authors and menaced the publishing industry”.

According to the accusation, Bernardini registered 160 false internet domains for real people and organisations while making only subtle, imperceptible alterations to the spelling.

In several instances, the letter “m” would be changed to two “r”s next to each other, reading “rn.”

In January 2022, Bernardini was put under custody. When informed of the claims, a spokeswoman for Simon & Schuster stated they were “shocked and horrified,” and they were appreciative of the FBI for looking into the matter.

Bernardini will make restitution payments of $88,000 in addition to any potential prison term, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

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