Public domain photo
by Debbie Burke
Scams that prey on writers’ hopes and dreams have been around for decades. Here at TKZ, we often talk about the barrage of emails, text messages, and phone calls from high-pressure con artists that promise your book is guaranteed to be a NYT bestseller AND a blockbuster film AND a streaming series…if only you pay them fees that range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Between 2017 to 2024, an estimated 800 unwary, trusting writers paid more than $44 million to a particularly successful enterprise called PageTurner, Press and Media LLC with offices in Chula Vista, California.
In January 2025, three principals of PageTurner were indicted by the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, with investigation assistance from the FBI and US Postal Inspectors.
Gemma Traya Austin, 58, of Chula Vista, Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, 32, the Philippines, and Bryan Navales Torosa, 34, the Philippines, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. Potential penalties are 20 years in prison and fines up to $500,000 or twice the amount laundered.
All three defendants pled not guilty.
Additionally, PageTurner’s website has been shut down. 
Back in 2023, the Authors Guild issued warnings based on numerous complaints made by writers who had paid PageTurner large amounts of money but received no value.
Since 2018, watchdog Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware had also been following complaints by victims. She tracked down various company names connected with PageTurner, including Innocentrix Philippines, “an umbrella group for a bumper crop of scams.”
“Pig-butchering” is a scam where victims are pressured to pay increasing fees as the scammers pass victims around among various related entities. Each additional entity requires more money for their supposed service. They claim to be liaisons with film producers and studios, or marketing specialists, or contacts to develop screenplays or “treatments” for film, etc.
Fraudsters fatten up their victims with repeated, escalating demands for payment before “butchering” them for a final big score.
In one horrific case, an author was pressured into spending more than $600,000 for bogus screen treatments, marketing, and PR programs.
The website of a Philippine beauty pageant includes this paragraph about one of the accused:
Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, commonly known as Mike Sordilla, serves as the current chairman of the Hiyas ng Pilipinas organization. A distinguished judge for numerous local and national pageants, Mike Sordilla is also a respected philanthropist, businessman, and socialite. Under his leadership, the organization has reached new heights, establishing itself as one of the most anticipated and celebrated pageant competitions in the country.
The “respected philanthropist” and his two cohorts have remained in custody since December 2024 because they’re considered flight risks.
Adding insult to injury, a phony law firm is now soliciting victims of PageTurner to represent them for a $1200 free. This notice appears on Writer Beware:
SCAM ALERT: Authors are reporting calls from “US Literary Law Firm” offering “representation” for PageTurner victims for a fee of $1,200. This offer is fraudulent: there is no such law firm.
Because of the large dollar amounts and complexity of evidence in the PageTurner case, court dates have been delayed several times with the most recent update ordering a hearing on August 29, 2025.
If you or any writer you know has been victimized by PageTurner, the FBI issued this request:
If you believe you are a victim of the PageTurner scam, please contact the FBI at AuthorFraud@fbi.gov.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
Writers are especially vulnerable to scams by con artists who use hopes and dreams as psychological weapons to take advantage of them. When anyone solicits you out of the blue with lofty promises about the fame and success they can deliver for your book, the best practice is to hang up, block the number, and delete emails and texts.
The only promise you can count on from them is that they will financially butcher you.
~~~
Con artists, scammers, and fraudsters are among bad guys and bad gals featured in Debbie Burke’s new writing craft book, The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.
Sales links:
If they come to you out of the blue, hit that delete key.
Absolutely right, Terry!
Unfortunately scammers are now using AI/ChatGPT to personalize the contact. They make it sound as if they really read your book with references to specific characters, plot points, etc. Those are harder to pluck out as bogus b/c they sound authentic.
But going back to your point, if they contact you out of the blue, chances are high they’re scammers.
Former agent, current author, and freelance book editor Nathan Bransford is currently dealing with people impersonating him and soliciting business. I assume about his former agent role.
Years ago, I became part of a group of authors working with a new publisher. The publisher was stupid enough to give us contact information for each other so we became a group list. Information was exchanged as we watched this “new direction” in publishing become a dumpster fire of ignorance, narcissism, and illegal behavior. Several of its first victims warned everyone else yet one author insisted on signing their contract. We all begged her not to, but she did anyway. She said that she didn’t want to destroy her dream of being published so she took the chance. Her novel disappeared into a contract hell she could never get out of. She destroyed her own dream. Very sad. The good news is this group remained, and we became a support and friend group for many years as we each followed our publishing journey.
What a sad story, Marilynn. She didn’t preserve her dream but only prolonged her unrealistic illusions.
Glad you found a support group in spite of slimy people trying to take advantage of writers. We gotta watch out for each other.
Impersonations are a whole ‘nother variation on scams, with deep fakes making it possible to appear to be someone you’re not.
What a world!
These scammers prey on our dreams of garnering a huge readership, bestsellerdom and fame. If they come to me, that’s an instant red flag. My late friend Mary Rosenblum constantly warned writers to beware such scams. Now, with GenAI, it’s all too easy to personalize these.
Yog’s Law (coined by author James McDonald) states that “money must flow toward the writer.” A decade ago John Scalzi discussed how self-publishing is an exception, but one with an important corollary: the self-published writer must control how the money is spent. His comments still stand: https://www.sfwa.org/2014/07/07/guest-post-yogs-law-self-publishing/
Dale, I’ve always appreciated SFWA b/c of Writer Beware, one of the best watchdogs who warn writers about scammers.
Self-published authors are like general contractors. They subcontract out certain tasks, like editing, cover design, promotion, etc. but they are the ones in control. When the project makes a profit, money fliws to the general contractor/author.
Just be careful whom you subcontract out to!
People who cheat others are the real AI – Abominable Idiots. And the ones who cheat the elderly are a special subcategory of evil. They should be put in isolated cells and forced to correct the spelling mistakes of scammers for the rest of their lives.
I vote for Kay DiBianca as Presding Judge in the court that tries fraudsters!
If you are approached unsolicited, the chances are it is either a scam or the person is fishing for business. It’s a lot easier to check out people and companies now than it was a decade ago.
When I’m bored, I play with the marketing sharks who DM me. Their audacity makes me laugh, especially when they keep on coming after their lack of experience has been thrown in their face.
I’ve written contract for decades. The minute I bring up performance requirements for pay, they scatter like roaches in the light.
Aw, Fred, you spoil all their fun when you expect them to perform!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for posting this, Debbie. I’ll pass it on to various writers groups. Preying on writers is shameful, but these idiots have no shame.
Thanks, Elaine. The more writers we can spread the word to, hopefully the fewer will become victims.
Shame is not in their job description.
When I first attended conferences, I met an agent who liked my pitch and wanted to see three chapters. I sent the chapters and she wrote back and said she’d be glad to represent me but my writing needed a good editor. She would edit it for a price that seemed reasonable, but when I got the edit back, as green as I was, I knew she was a fake. Then I discovered writer beware and found her listed as one not to deal with.
But when you’re first starting out, you don’t know what you don’t know She was alearning experience and I paid a stupid tax for not checking her out better
Pat, you’re so right that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Hopefully we’ll reach newer writers who can learn from our mistakes.
Great post, Debbie.
There are so many roads to take in the writing world that lead to big $$–but only a few where those $$ are paid to us.
Thanks for posting this, and I hope the bad guys and gals you mentioned get exactly what they deserve. (I really like Kay’s idea!)
Yeah, Deb, the sad truth is that scammers preying on writers prob’ly make more money than the writers do.
Oh well, we do this cuz we love it.
👍👍👍
Scams aside, there are more people making money OFF of writers than there are writers making money.
Very true, B.D. An entire collage industry sprang up to support self-publishing authors. Cover design, book formatting, proofreading, editing, webinars, etc. As long as they provide a good service for a fair price, That’s valid. But the scammers always worm their way in to promise the moon and only deliver heartbreak. Sigh.
I need to hire a proofreader. That’s supposed to be “cottage” industry.