One of Fremantle‘s main execs in Europe has turn into sufferer of a complicated $1M rip-off.
Jaime Ondarza, the Got Talent producer’s CEO in Southern Europe, was focused by cyber criminals who posed as a senior Fremantle chief needing funds for a corporation acquisition in Asia.
According to the Corriere Della Sera newspaper, the scammers satisfied Ondarza to switch €937,670 ($1M) to an account in Asia, whose proprietor then scattered the cash to dozens of different worldwide accounts (IBANs), that means the money is nearly inconceivable to hint.
The rip-off has turn into widespread within the enterprise world. It is called ‘CEO fraud‘ as a result of it targets enterprise leaders and C-suite people with entry to giant funds.
The fraud works by the felony posing a senior chief inside a company and urging a colleague to urgently switch cash. They will use strategies resembling cloned Voip (voiceover IP) numbers that differ barely from that of the particular colleague to realize belief earlier than request a direct switch of monies.
Corriere Della Sera reported that when Ondarza had agreed to make the switch, an e mail to a lawyer was despatched to his inbox instructing which account the cash ought to be paid into. With Fremantle having engaged in Asian M&A this yr, the cost was made.
Ondarza quickly had doubts, realizing the request may have been a rip-off. He contacted different Fremantle execs after which referred to as the Italian police after the fraud was confirmed. Police in Rome at the moment are investigating.
A Fremantle spokesperson acknowledged the incident: “We are aware of an incident involving a local manager in southern Europe, who has been a victim of a cyber-crime, and we are working with the relevant authorities to resolve this matter.”
Ondarza has been with Fremantle since final yr, becoming a member of from Paramount Global as CEO for Southern Europe and Israel, overseeing manufacturing operations in Israel, Italy, Portugal and Spain. At Paramount, he had been EVP Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa and Head of Streaming for Southern EMEA and Latin America. Before that, he had spent most of his profession in senior roles at Warner Bros Discovery (then WarnerMedia).
Earlier right this moment, Fremantle confirmed it had acquired Asacha Media Group. The RTL-owned manufacturing and distribution big has spent greater than €200M ($216M) on Asacha and 80% of Singapore’s Beach House Pictures for the reason that begin of this yr.