A con artist is currently being investigated by the FBI for impersonating Marvel Studios executive vice president Victoria Alonso. Alonso is an integral part of the team behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while she's not as visible as Kevin Feige is, she's been part of the pioneering crew that kicked off the franchise in 2008 via Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau's Iron Man

Alonso has produced every single MCU film to date, even a couple of the now discontinued Marvel One-Shots. But before she came to Marvel, she already had a career in the industry focusing on visual effects. The Argentina-born was the visual effects producer for several non-Marvel projects such as Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven from 2005 and the popular romantic-comedy starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, 50 First Dates from 2004.

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Being one of the top executives in the tight crew of Marvel Studios, Alonso has a great deal of responsibility in the company. And being one of the creatives behind the world's most successful franchise obviously gives her a prominent status in Hollywood, so it makes sense that she's been targeted by the con artist known as the Con Queen of Hollywood as reported by THR. Alonso was made aware of the situation when a movie star approached her to talk about the purported plan to replace Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the franchise. The executive commented on the matter with the primary goal of informing everyone that this swindler is still at large.

“People need to understand that this is not what Marvel or I would ever do. It’s a horrible, horrible thing. I’ve had an unimpeachable 30-year career. That somebody is claiming I have done these things — I’ve spent many, many sleepless nights.

“This person is preying on people’s dreams. If something happens to you, report it. If it feels wrong, it is. Walk away."

The report continues by revealing that the Con Queen of Hollywood has been impersonating several big name producers in Hollywood since 2013. Aside from Alonso, she's impersonated Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and former Paramount chair Sherry Lansing. The Con Queen's main modus is to lure "people into sexually charged phone conversations, with no apparent financial stakes involved." Meanwhile "several dozen more, including up-and-coming actors, photographers, stunt performers, military veterans, makeup artists and others, have been targeted for potential sexual or monetary exploitation." Like Alonso, the FBI is also issuing a warning for potential victims of this con-artist.

Considering that this swindler seems to be targeting female producers only, it's curious whether it's by design or it's a one-woman operation that hinders her from going after male Hollywood executives. In any case, with the law enforcement officially involved in the matter, chances are that this unknown perpetrator is being careful more than ever to not get caught. Perhaps, she's even dialed down her operation just to be safe. While that makes it more difficult to pin her down,  Alonso coming out in the open and sharing her story is a great move as it tips off other people in the industry to be extra cautious when it comes to discussing about sketchy deals.

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Source: THR