On Thursday, movie star Anne Hathaway’s former boyfriend, Rafaello Follieri, 30, received a sentence of four and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering.  According to U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, Follieri’s scam will not only ruin him financially, it will also lead to his deportation after completing his prison term.

Follieri, leading investors to believe he had Vatican connections and could buy Roman Catholic Church property at discounted prices, cheated them of millions of dollars by inducing them to invest in his real estate business – the Follieri Group.  He falsely claimed to be the Chief Financial Officer for the Vatican, and on one occasion even showed a letter, purportedly written to him by Pope John Paul II.

Arriving in USA six years ago, his dating Anne Hathaway and his acquaintanceship with movie stars and celebrities, induced him into an expensive lifestyle as befitting his status as the boyfriend of a Hollywood star.  His lavish personal expenditure included a $37,000 per month Manhattan condo, travel by private planes, yacht rentals, expensive dinners, flowers, clothes, cosmetics, wine and vacations for his parents and Hathaway, all funded by investor money.

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ star and Follieri dated for four years till his arrest in June.  Flora Edwards, Follieri’s defence lawyer hopes that the 100-letters stating his charitable acts and a gravely ill mother will help reduce his sentence.