Three Indicted and Internet Domain Seized in $44 Million Nationwide Book Publishing Scam Targeting Elderly Authors [View all]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/three-indicted-and-internet-domain-seized-44-million-nationwide-book-publishing-scam

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury has charged three people with defrauding elderly authors across the United States of almost $44 million by convincing the victims that publishers and filmmakers wanted to turn their books into blockbusters — but only if they paid some fees first.

According to the indictment, Gemma Traya Austin of Chula Vista was the organizer and registered agent for PageTurner, Press and Media LLC (“PageTurner”), a Chula Vista company that claimed to be a book publishing business. Michael Cris Traya Sordilla and Bryan Navales Tarosa, both of the Philippines, were executives at Innocentrix Philippines, a business process outsourcing company.

The indictment alleges that between September 2017 and December 2024, the defendants used PageTurner to operate a book publishing scam in which the conspirators working for Innocentrix Philippines contacted individual authors through unsolicited calls and emails. As part of the scam, the conspirators falsely represented that PageTurner was a book publishing business that worked with literary agents, major motion picture studios, and popular video streaming services, and that PageTurner acted as a liaison between individuals who sought to publish their books or have their books turned into motion pictures or television series.

As part of the conspiracy, the scammers falsely told victims their works had been selected for acquisition by publishers or movie studios, and fraudulently convinced victims to send PageTurner payments for various services, including pre-payment of taxes and transaction fees, before the victim-author’s work could be published or optioned to studios.

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