The American Federal Police (FBI) has suspended an employee of the publishing house "Simen and Shroster" on suspicion of stealing hundreds of books manuscripts before publishing them, which is a mystery that has been occupying American literary circles for years, but the motives are still mysterious.
After his presentation on Thursday before the judiciary in New York the day after his arrest at John Fitzgerald Kennedy International Airport, he was condemned an Italian at the age of 29 for electronic fraud and the use of forged identity with strict reasons for the punishment, which are crimes that are sentenced to 22 years in prison..
A spokesman for the Federal Public Prosecutor in Manhattan told AFP that the judiciary imposed on the man a guarantee of $ 300,000 as a "guarantee on his assets", and put him "at home reservation" with "preventing wandering"..
This employee is suspected of receiving at the "Simen and Shroster" in London as "Coordinator of Rights", between 2016 and 2021 "hundreds of unpublished manuscripts", some of which are famous writers or their representatives, while giving them fake electronic addresses to officials in publishing houses or literary agents,According to the accused decision published by the American judiciary.
The suspect was experienced in his fraudulent style, as he was changing one letter in a way that was difficult to be alerted in the email address and impersonates the identity of people known to the target parties to facilitate their rhythm..For years, the publishing world is filled with attempts to impersonate an adjective, some of which are a failure and the other is successful, mysteriously because thefts were not followed by a request for a financial ransom or by leaking works to publish them illegally..
In August 2021, "New York Magazine" recounted how the publishers of the Swedish police stories "Millenim", famously famous, were asked to have a fellow of them in Italy, to send him a safe link that provides him with a force to a manuscript under translation beforeRelease.
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In 2019, the literary agent of the Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood revealed that fraudulent operations of this type targeted the expected completion of the "Handmamids Tale" entitled "The Testamins".
Bernardini was accused of registering "160 fraudulent electronic scales" on the Internet, so that a winner of the Politzer Award sent him "his manuscript for publishing", believing that he was publisher of his work, according to the accused decision..
These fraudulent attempts have also affected a well -known book such as Sally Rooney, Ian Mac Ewan or actor Ethan Hawk, according to the New York Times..
Until now, Philipo Bernardini's motives are still pushing his innocence during his first appearance, mysterious until now.Although the accused decision explains that he was carefully hidden by the manuscripts he seized in one electronic box, the suspect did not explain what he was doing with these works and whether he achieved financial profits thanks to them.The accusation decision did not address the existence of partners in the fraudulent operations.
There were not many information about the suspect.According to screenshots from an account on "LinkedIn", it is no longer on the network now, "Philipp B..He knows himself as a "rights coordinator" at the "Simen and Shroster" house and holds a certificate in the Chinese language from the Catholic University in Milan and a certificate of publishing from UCL University in London, in a path that attributes it to "passionate about written texts and languages".
The issue is an embarrassment for the New York -based American Publishing House and includes among its most famous book Stephen King.
The company announced that it had "froze" the responsibilities of the employee "awaiting obtaining more information about the case", expressing "shock and astonishment" regarding the suspect's commits.
The company said, "The protection of the intellectual property of our writers wears the great importance of the" Simen and Shroster "and for the overall publishing sector.".