December 2, 2008 7:49:38 PM CST
(Newser) – Raffaello Follieri has been sensationalized as some new kind of con man, but Anne Hathaway’s ex is actually an old archetype, Michael Shnayerson writes in Vanity Fair. Like the heroes of 19th-century social novels, Follieri is a young man from the provinces who conquered the world, got the girl—and was undone by his own ambition.
At every turn, Follieri used investors’ money and bounced checks to create the illusion that he was rich and powerful. But for all his unscrupulous antics, the charges against the 30-year-old Italian seem flimsy; most were already settled in a civil suit. “If Rafaello wasn’t dating Anne Hathaway this wouldn’t have happened,” says one source. “The US attorney doesn’t get out of bed for this sort of stuff.”
Source Vanity Fair
Nov 19, 08 3:05 PM CST Anne Hathaway has a “sexy” new man, and he’s no high-flying fraudster like her now-in-prison ex, but they may share a quality. Still-struggling actor Adam Shulman is an “opportunist,” a source tells the New York Post. “When he was at Brown [University], he went after all the heiresses. It's like Anne is addicted to losers.” More »
Nov 13, 08 9:27 AM CST Moving from his $37,500-a-month Trump Tower apartment into a windowless dorm room shared with 120 other inmates has not been good for Raffaello Follieri’s health, the New York Post reports. The convicted con man’s lawyer told a judge that Anne Hathaway’s ex has blood in his urine, a fever, and other problems; he blamed the deterioration in health on the prison’s “unsanitary environment.” More »
Oct 6, 08 11:05 AM CDT Anne Hathaway made fun of her high-profile split with convicted fraudster Rafaello Follieri on Saturday Night Live, reports MSNBC. “I broke up with my boyfriend … and two weeks later he was sent to prison for fraud … I mean, we've all been there, right, ladies?” the actress said in opening the show, which scored one of its highest ratings since 2002. More »
Sep 10, 08 1:22 PM CDT Wearing prison attire, Raffaelo Follieri pleaded guilty today to 14 federal counts of fraud and money laundering, Reuters reports. "I knew what I was doing was wrong," actress Anne Hathaway's ex said as he admitted misrepresenting his ties to the Vatican and using investors' money to fund his high-rolling lifestyle. He faces 20 years in prison, but the plea deal, which averts a trial, will likely lessen that. More »
Sep 9, 08 10:31 AM CDT Italian entrepreneur Raffaello Follieri may plead guilty as soon as today to fraud and money-laundering, the Wall Street Journal reports. Anne Hathaway's ex could still opt for a trial. He faces federal charges that carry a sentence of up to 5 years, even with the plea deal, but the government's case is hardly airtight: the main victim of his scam, celebrity billionaire Ron Burkle, has already settled his civil suit against Follieri. More »
I didn’t think he was a con man. I thought he was delusional. - A consultant for the New York Archdiocese
He was very good at working with implications and allowing them to take a life of their own. - A Follieri Group staffer
Anne Hathaway • Raffaello Follieri • con man
