Scams targeting writers cheat them out of millions

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published July 22, 2025 at 9:44 AM MDT

In January, the Justice Department charged three people behind a company called PageTurner with cheating 800 authors out of $44 million. The company falsely promised publishing deals, marketing and advertising services, and TV and movie deals, while demanding high fees in return. Self-published authors are especially vulnerable to scams like this.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks to Brent Crane, an investigative reporter who wrote about these scams for Bloomberg Businessweek.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.