What to Know
Iranian-born Anoushirvan D. Fakhran wanted a different life than the one he had in the 1990s, so he decided to make a big change. He didn’t work hard to make his dreams come true; instead, he decided to invent a totally new person with a very famous name, hoping it would give him a competitive edge. In 1997, he changed his name to Jonathan Taylor Spielberg.
A year later, he enrolled as a freshman at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax. He told everyone he was a 14-year-old freshman and the nephew of famed filmmaker Steven Spielberg. But he was actually 27, a professional con artist, and is now the subject of a riveting new podcast.
Charlie Webster reveals Jonathan Taylor Spielberg’s scam.
Webster, whose podcast Scamanda, revealed the life of fake cancer patient Amanda Reily, told LADbible JonathanTaylor Spielberg’s story “shocked” her. In her new podcast, SPLBERG, she explains that Jonathan Taylor Spielberg posed as a teenager who drove a BMW with SPLBERG personalized plates. He claimed he was not only Steven Spielberg’s nephew but also had strong connections in Hollywood, including friends like Ben Affleck.
“The comedy framing everywhere and everybody treated it like something funny that happened and a playground joke. That genuinely shocked me. These were real kids. How reachable he was. He wasn’t hiding. He wanted to be found,” Webster said.
People wanted to believe Jonathan Taylor Spielberg had celebrity connections.
Webster explained that life in the 1990s and life today are not at all the same. We have access to much more information than we did nearly 30 years ago. It’s not totally wild that Jonathan Taylor Spielberg could have gotten people to believe him.
“The 90s were the peak of monoculture celebrity, fewer famous people, which made them bigger. If you had a connection to that world, you had something almost nobody else had,” she said. “That’s intoxicating.”
Jonathan Taylor Spielberg was very convincing.
Webster added that he put people under his spell with his charm and his belief in himself. Plus, at the time, no one seemed to be interested in dispelling his lies. Webster added that for those who fell victim to his lies, it can be a source of shame. There were times when she wondered if she even wanted to tell his story at all.
“There was a lot of emotion here even now, some people felt ashamed and embarrassed. I do think this also had something to do with Catholic culture. I spoke to a lot of people off the record. And to protect their trust and legally I can’t report what they told me,” Webster said.
She added that every detail in SPLBERG is very carefully crafted to keep all participants protected. She even had the chance to speak with Jonathan Taylor Spielberg to hear his side of the story.
SPLBERG is available now on Audible.
