Bummer week for Anne Hathaway! Last weekend her movie with Steve Carvell "Get Smart" rocked at the box office grabbing the top spot - and yet all folks are talking about is her sleazy Italian beau Raffaello Follieri whose been charged with 11 counts of fraud and money laundering.
Close friends are saying Anne has been "surprised" by just how bad things are - when the feds busted him Tuesday they got a $21 MILLION bond put on him (they must think he'll be hasta la vista if he sees the light of day) and additionally will have to have five co-signers to get bail. Oh, and they say that Follieri "tested positive" for opiates during a routine drug test.
Hathaway, who normally isn't in the spotlight although her films - 'Get Smart,' 'The Devil Wears Prada,' and 'The Princess Diaries' - have been box office gold, must have known something was coming since he's been in legal trouble even before this. Follieri took her to the LA premiere of "Get Smart" just a week ago. The couple has been together for four years and split just before his arrest.
According to the charges, Follieri led investors to believe he had connections to the Vatican that allowed him access to buy the Catholic Church’s unwanted U.S. real estate at a cheap rate.In addition, the 29-year-old also allegedly claimed he managed the Vatican’s financial affairs.
He was placed on $21 million bail despite prosecutors arguing Raffaelo has the money and connections to flee the country, but his lawyer guaranteed his cooperation. The AP reports:
Prosecutor Reed Michael Brodsky said Follieri, of Foggia, Italy, boasted of tight Vatican connections to entice investors to give millions of dollars so he could "live the lifestyle of a multimillionaire." He said Follieri had duped one investor as recently as last month.
"In short, your honor, he is a con man, and he was able to defraud a lot of people out of a lot of money over a long period of time," Brodsky told Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman. "The vidence in this case is overwhelming because he left a trail of evidence."
Hathaway, who did not give testimony in connection with the indictment that led to Follieri's June 24 arrest, “never thought it could be this bad,” says a source close to the actress.
“Even when he turned himself in for the check cashing [charge in April which was dropped], she bought the excuses he gave her,” the source says.
He's charged with six counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering, and faces life in prison if convicted. Oh, and they say that Follieri "tested positive" for opiates during a routine drug test while checking into jail.
