Hollywood's Guardian Angels Tom Cruise And John Travolta Duped By Fake Heath Ledger Father

Seth — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:38:12 PST

In a shocking development in the Heath Ledger tragedy, the NY Post is reporting that an unidentified con man has been making calls pretending to be Heath's father. Not only did he convince the Manhattan funeral home that held Ledger's body to book him multiple rooms at the Carlysle hotel for him and his "family," he also took advantage of grieving A-list movie stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta. From their report:

By the [day after Ledger's death], a man claiming to be Kim Ledger managed to get Cruise on the phone, a source said.

Over the next few days, he "had had a couple of conversations with" Cruise, asking for emotional support, said the source. But Cruise abruptly cut him off when he learned "he was an impostor," the source said. "Heath's reps found out there was this hoaxer and they called various celebs." Sources close to Cruise confirmed the impostor contacted him.
Travolta publicist Samantha Mast said, "John spoke with the guy briefly before he realized he was an impostor. He did not make arrangements to buy him a plane ticket." But a source said Travolta, who had been "making arrangements to buy [the impostor] a plane ticket from Australia to LA and subsequently to New York."

Realizing the death of a fellow A-lister was the tragic-accident equivalent of a 28-car pileup on a rain-slicked freeway, the cruel impostor's grift was slyly calculated to take full advantage of Cruise and Travolta's lifelong pledge to good Scientological samaritanism. It's to their credit that both actors lept to his aid, erring on the side of gullibility, rather than first insisting the voice on the other end of the line be subjected to a personality test intake exam and e-meter reading, just to verify his stress-levels matched those of an authentically grieving parent.

SICKO POSES AS HEATH'S FATHER [NY Post]

Con Man Unscrupulousy Capitalizes On The Power Of The Hoff

Seth — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 15:47:43 PDT

Hollywood has always provided a fertile feeding ground for scam artists like David William Port, a Kansas City resident who bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from gullible investors convinced they could grow their nest eggs by hitching them to the enduring bankability of Pamela Anderson prancing down the Malibu shore in a physics-defying one-piece bathing suit. From the Reuters report:

A Kansas City man bilked investors out of $360,000 by claiming he had syndication rights to U.S. television lifeguard drama "Baywatch" and help from star David Hasselhoff, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
David William Port, a 53-year-old resident originally from Britain, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, according to U.S. Attorney John Wood.

The scam caught up "victim-investors" from England, Utah, New York, California and Delaware, Wood said. [...]

He also convinced them a series of "Baywatch" restaurants were planned, with the financial help of "Baywatch" star Hasselhoff, and that Hasselhoff was investing in PCG Media.

So convincing was Port's phony pitch—rumored to be a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation outlining how Baywatch Burger had four-times the growth potential of Planet Hollywood—that investors typically whipped out their checkbooks on the spot, undaunted by any negative associations the public might make between the celebrity endorser and self-destructive hamburger-consumption practices. Luckily, the con man now faces up to 50 years in a federal prison, where he'll be unable to ensnare more victims by making further phony claims about owning exclusive DVD rights to Silk Stalkings.

Investors beached in U.S. "Baywatch" scam

Defamer: Scams

Hollywood's Guardian Angels Tom Cruise And John Travolta Duped By Fake Heath Ledger Father

Con Man Unscrupulousy Capitalizes On The Power Of The Hoff