His first big con was made in Paris, where he faked the
deed to a property that he did not own, which he then "sold" for US$1.4 million. Making his way to the
United States, Rocancourt used at least a dozen aliases, and got the rich and powerful to invest in his schemes, he told
Dateline, by tapping into their greed. He convinced them that he, too, was rich by paying for their lavish dinners in cash. He once estimated to
Dateline that his various schemes/ventures netted him at least
US$40 million, but this cannot be confirmed. In
Los Angeles, he pretended to be a
movie producer, ex-
boxing champion or
venture capitalist; he also claimed to be the illegitimate son of
Sophia Loren, the nephew of
Oscar de la Renta and
Dino De Laurentiis, and he associated himself with various celebrities, living for a time with
Mickey Rourke, and apparently convincing actor
Jean-Claude Van Damme to produce his next movie. He was also in talks with
Jermaine Jackson to develop a line of fragrances inspired by
Michael Jackson songs. Rocancourt, using the name Christopher De Laurentiis, married Gry Park in 1992, with whom he had a child. He married
Playboy model
Pia Reyes in May 1996, and they had a son, Zeus. Beside being married to Pia Reyes, according to the press, he lived with
Playboy model Rhonda Rydell for six months; Rydell did not know Rocancourt was married, and said he had told her he was French nobility, the son of a countess. Rocancourt served a year in prison before being extradited to New York and pleading guilty to charges of
theft,
grand larceny,
smuggling,
bribery,
perjury and
fraud against 19 victims. In September 2003, the plea resulted in a fine of $9 million, an order to pay $1.2 million in restitution and a term of three years and ten months in federal prison. While being held in Canada, Rocancourt wrote an autobiography in which he ridiculed his victims. In
Switzerland, police have connected him with a jewel theft, and at one point barred him from the country for 14 years; this ban expired in 2016. In July 2009, French filmmaker
Catherine Breillat accused Rocancourt of scamming her out of
€700,000. Breillat, who was diagnosed with a
cerebrovascular disease in 2004, accused him of taking advantage of her due to her mental incapacity. Due to this event, the film
Bad Love, with Rocancourt and model
Naomi Campbell, was cancelled. Breillat told a French journalist that her first meeting with Rocancourt was the worst day of her life, even worse than the day when she was diagnosed with her cerebrovascular disease. In 2012, Rocancourt was convicted of "abus de faiblesse" ("abuse of weakness") for taking Breillat's money, and sentenced to 16 months in prison. In October 2014, he was arrested along with his lawyer, 23-year-old girlfriend, and a member of the French police that he allegedly bribed to supply him with genuine passports and visas to be sold on for extortionate sums to illegal migrants. ==In popular culture==