Posted in: Disney, Marvel Studios, Movies | Tagged: marvel, victoria alonso
Marvel Studios Exec Victoria Alonso Targeted by Impersonator
Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso is the latest high-profile Hollywood executive to be targeted by a con-artist known as the Con Queen of Hollywood, who is the target of an investigation by the FBI for financial fraud related to impersonating the executives. According to a report from THR, Alonso was the subject of the Con Queen's side hustle, which is apparently to lure unsuspecting actors into sexually explicit phone conversations. Lucasfilm's Katheleen Kennedy and Paramount's Sherry Lansing were previously targeted in the same way.
According to the report, the Con Queen lured actor Brandon Wengrzynek into a phone meeting to discuss work on a Marvel TV show and then convinced him to engage in sexual roleplay. In other instances, the Con Queen convinces actors to travel to Indonesia for jobs and to pay costs for the trip up front, with the money siphoned to the Con Queen's account. The Con Queen also contacted a stuntman under the premise of replacing Jeremy Renner in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is how Alonso found out about the scheme. She had to prove her whereabouts to Disney lawyers to prove she wasn't guilty, saying, "Disney never said we think you did this. They just said, 'We need to corroborate that you didn't.'"
The FBI is seeking information about the crimes and reports from victims at this website. It's unclear what punishments the Con Queen could face for impersonating others for financial gain, but one possibility is becoming the next Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics.