Defendant Pleads Guilty in $48 Million Nationwide Book Publishing Scam Targeting Hundreds of Seniors

SAN DIEGO – Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, a 34-year-old citizen of the Philippines, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he conspired to perpetrate a book publishing scam that caused losses of over $48 million to more than 800 victims throughout the United States. Sordilla is the first of four defendants to admit his role in a scheme that targeted authors — most of them seniors — by promising to elevate their work to major publishing deals and Hollywood film adaptations, all in exchange for millions of dollars in fraudulent fees. According to his plea agreement, Sordilla was the founder and CEO of Innocentrix Philippines, which purported to be a “business process outsourcing” company in the Philippines. Sordilla admitted that he and his co-conspirators created and registered phony business entities in the United States, including: PageTurner Press and Media LLC (“PageTurner”), which was incorporated in California in September 2017 and claimed to be a book publishing business located in Chula Vista, California The Metro Films LLC (“Metro Films”), which was incorporated in California in April 2022 and claimed to be a motion picture and sound recording business located in Los Angeles, California WP Lighthouse LLC (“WP Lighthouse”) was registered in Indiana in July 2024 and claimed to be a book publishing business in Indianapolis, Indiana. From 2017 until 2024, under the guise of these fictitious businesses, Sordilla and co-conspirators operated a fraudulent network of scammers in the Philippines to enrich themselves by selling false hopes of tremendous professional success to writers in the United States. According to his plea agreement, Sordilla’s role in the conspiracy was using Innocentrix Philippines to manage a call center in the Philippines where dozens of sales representatives contacted victims in the United States pretending to be literary agents from PageTurner or WP Lighthouse. As part of the conspiracy, the scammers falsely told victims their works had been selected for acquisition by publishers or movie studios, and fraudulently convinced victims to send payments for various services including pre-payment of taxes and transaction fees, before the victim-author’s work could be published or optioned to studios. According to court documents, the conspirators made false representations regarding PageTurner and WP Lighthouse to the victims, including by falsely representing the location of operations, their contacts and communications with literary agents, major traditional publishers, motion picture studios, and popular video streaming services. As part of the conspiracy, the conspirators impersonated literary agents and executives from major publishers, motion picture studios, and popular video streaming services, or pretended to be representatives from the fake motion picture business Metro Films. In reality, PageTurner, WP Lighthouse, and Metro Films were fictitious businesses with no relationship to either traditional publishers or Hollywood entertainment companies. Sordilla directed co-conspirators to open and manage bank accounts in the name of PageTurner and WP Lighthouse LLC at various financial institutions, his plea agreement said. After victim funds were received in bank accounts established on behalf of PageTurner and WP Lighthouse, in order to conceal the location and control of proceeds of the book publishing scam, Sordilla directed co-conspirators to withdraw and transfer victim funds to domestic and international bank accounts in the Philippines controlled by Sordilla and co-conspirators. As part of the conspiracy, Sordilla directed co-conspirators to launder at least $42 million, and received approximately $2,725,951. As part of the guilty plea, Sordilla agreed to forfeit $2,725,951 in proceeds from the offense. Sordilla will also be subject to an order of restitution to the victims of the offense in the amount of at least $48,719,156.38. “The defendants didn’t just steal money — they stol