Filippo Bernardini: Italian admits stealing unpublished books

An Italian antheral has admitted stealing much than 1,000 unpublished manuscripts, galore written by high-profile authors.

Filippo Bernardini impersonated figures from the publishing manufacture to instrumentality radical into handing implicit the works.

He utilized his wrong manufacture knowledge, having been employed by the publishing elephantine Simon & Schuster successful London.

Bernardini, 30, pleaded blameworthy successful New York to ligament fraud, but his motive has ne'er been clear.

Manuscripts were not recovered to person been leaked connected the internet, nor were immoderate ransom demands made.

The condemnation of Bernardini, who was arrested by the FBI successful January past year, appears to explicate a enigma that has baffled the literate satellite for years, with Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan and Sally Rooney among the novelists targeted.

Prosecutors said helium registered much than 160 fake net domains from 2016.

Agents, editors and Booker Prize judges each fell unfortunate to phishing scams from somewhat altered official-looking email addresses, requesting manuscripts of works by authors including Booker victor Margaret Atwood.

In an interrogation with The Bookseller successful 2019, Atwood confirmed determination had been "concerted efforts to bargain the manuscript" of her publication The Testaments earlier it was released.

"There were tons of phoney emails from radical trying to winkle adjacent conscionable 3 pages, adjacent conscionable anything," she noted.

Although the Italian worked astatine Simon & Schuster, determination was nary proposition that the publishing location was astatine responsibility and it was not named successful the ineligible papers.

"We are grateful to the FBI and Department of Justice for its defence and enactment of the intelligence spot rights of authors passim the world," the steadfast said successful a connection connected Friday.

Bernardini volition beryllium sentenced successful April. He faces a maximum condemnation of 20 years successful prison.