The pieces of the Jonathan Taylor Spielberg puzzle are certainly there but putting them together to form a complete picture is a tough fit. According to the Post story, based on testimony being presented at a preliminary court hearing in Fairfax County, Virginia, Spielberg, in order to gain admittance to a Catholic high school school in 1998, went to a nearby Kinko's Copies store, typed a bogus three-page report card and gave himself A's in everything from organic chemistry to U.S. government. He then submitted the "transcript" to the school. Mind you, this is a 27 year-old guy who was trying to palm himself off as a 14-year-old freshman, but no one seemed to ask pertinent questions.
Spielberg/Fakhran legally changed his name from Anoushirvan D. Fakhran in 1997, but did not testify at the preliminary hearing. School officials and Fairfax City police Detective Michael Boone, however, did, detailing the chain of events that led to Spielberg's arrest on fraud and forgery charges. Boone testified that Spielberg admitted he has no relative named Spielberg, contrary to what he wrote in his name-change petition, but Spielberg's lawyer, Rodney Leffler, successfully argued that the information was not required by law and thus the claim was irrelevant. However, it was determined there was probable cause to believe Spielberg defrauded the high school, Paul VI. Evidence on a child pornography charge against Spielberg will be heard later.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Ian Rodway introduced as exhibits Spielberg's September 1998 application to Paul VI high school and a purported transcript from the "Beverly Hills Private School for Actors," which does not exist. On the handwritten application, Spielberg's father is listed as a Beverly Hills "plastic surgen" named "Charls Spielberg"; his mother, Mary Fakhran, is also identified as a doctor.
As weird as all of this sounds [again, a 27 year-old guy posing as a 14 year-old], Spielberg was admitted to Paul VI that September part time, for which he received no class credit, director of admissions Mary Jean Tani told the court. Last spring, when he indicated a desire to attend full time, Assistant Principal Marie Powell said she asked for evidence of his previous academic work. Spielberg provided the Beverly Hills transcript, which has a Universal Studios logo but no phone number or official seal.
The forged document says Spielberg took 20 classes from 1997 to 1999 and aced all of them except for a B in journalism. One of the many A's he awarded himself was for "creative writing."
Attorney Leffler asked Powell if she had been suspicious about the high grades. She said she'd taken notice but "had no experience with the kind of organization that might provide credit for someone being tutored one-on-one."
Last fall, after the school tried to contact Jonathan Spielberg's family in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg's security firm alerted Fairfax City police. Boone said that Spielberg initially gave his age as 20, then 26, then 27, and said he typed the Beverly Hills transcript himself at Kinko's.
Boone said Taylor Spielberg, who immigrated to the United States in 1992 from Iran, "said he liked Mr. [Steven] Spielberg. He said the name was Jewish and all Jews are related, and that makes him related to Steven Spielberg."
Attorney Rodway asked if Spielberg explained why he undertook the seeming ruse. "He spent a good deal of time talking about . . . Iran," Boone said. "He said his father was arrested and in jail. He said his mother had been beaten, and he was beaten. He had an overall bad experience with high school in Iran. He came to the U.S. and wanted to experience a good high school."
The better story is told how Taylor Spielberg got treated like royalty at Paul VI Catholic High School. According to testimony, from his first day in the high school, Taylor Spielberg was a neo-celebrity sensation. The principal escorted him around the cafeteria, introducing him, then did the same in several classes. No other student had received that kind of treatment.
Soon Spielberg began parking his flashy blue BMW coupe in the principal's parking spot or the visitors circle out front--a privilege unheard-of in school annals. The typical freshman doesn't even have a driver's license. Then, to really add the touch, Spielberg, who seemed to have a lot of time and money on his hands, would sprinkle his conversation with Hollywood names, dish out $10 bills to classmates and wear expensive clothing. He had a show-business air, classmates say, and frequently suggested his famous uncle might be giving money to the private Fairfax City school.
Fairfax City police are investigating his relationships with Paul VI students, among them a sophomore he dated. Federal authorities, including the Immigration and Naturalization Service, have joined the probe, and Spielberg could be deported if convicted of the felony fraud charges he faces.
The legal file on Spielberg is growing. Three times last month, police showed up at the Fairfax Square apartment he shares with his mother and arrested him on charges that include misrepresenting his age and background and possessing child pornography, a reference to a book police seized. He was released each time after posting bond.
As the inquiry expands, officials and even some of Spielberg's friends and former classmates are trying to determine how he and his mother supported themselves, including their $1,000-a-month apartment and his $24,000 leased BMW with the vanity license plate "SPLBERG."
Spielberg has acknowledged he isn't 16, as his school records reflect, but denied being in his twenties, saying, "I'm no older than 18." However, Spielberg's 1998 driver's license lists his birthdate as Jan. 2, 1973.
As for the other answers, Spielberg is no longer talking. Neither is his lawyer. But this much is known. He was born in Tehran, entering the United States from Hamburg on a student visa in 1992 with his mother, according to official records and police.
Spielberg also spent two semesters at the English Language Institute at George Mason University, then enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College. During this time, he and his mother moved into their well-appointed two-bedroom apartment in the Fairfax Square complex.
"Neither of them, as far as we knew, appeared to be working," said Donald White, a neighbor. "But they're extremely well dressed--never seen a pair of blue jeans on him or the mother." White and others said they frequently saw Spielberg smoking a cigarette out front or carrying out the garbage, a trash bag in one hand, a wine glass in the other.
Noting that Fairfax Square requires $30,000 minimum income to rent a one-bedroom apartment, White said he often wondered where his neighbors got the money "not only to live here but for the high-caliber lifestyle. For apartment dwellers, they are way out of [our] class."
According to a court filing, Spielberg claimed Spielberg was his great-grandfather's name, but Fairfax City police Detective Michael Boone said he thinks Spielberg was motivated by his "fascination with Steven Spielberg," four photos of whom were found in the Fairfax apartment.
Administrators at Paul VI say they first heard of Jonathan Spielberg in September 1998 when a woman called to say that Steven Spielberg's nephew would be in the area filming a movie and wanted to study high school life firsthand. Paul VI officials sent an application, which was returned in Jonathan Spielberg's name, listing his birthdate as Jan. 2, 1984.
The Rev. John Lyle, Paul VI's principal, allowed Spielberg to attend part time and waived tuition, according to Spielberg and a lawyer for Lyle's order. From the start, Spielberg had spotty attendance, sometimes showing up just for his girlfriend's classes. "He was in my English class," said one classmate. "He just came in and chilled. One day, he came in on a test day and got a 32. I'd say once every three weeks, he'd come to class. He told me he met Tyra Banks. He had us all fooled."
Some students liked Spielberg, some didn't. Some believed his story and references to "Uncle Steven," but others did not. In a typical school prank, his apartment building was "egged" a few times, neighbors said. White said he occasionally observed young men going into Spielberg's apartment, and once saw a seemingly angry parent retrieve his son.
Last May, Paul VI received a transcript from the "Beverly Hills Private School for Actors," listing stellar grades from a school that doesn't exist. A law enforcement official who has seen the transcript describes it as "a work of art"; Spielberg, who does not have a home computer, said he knows nothing about it.
But, based on that record, Paul VI admitted Spielberg last September as a full-time student and started billing him. Spielberg didn't show up any more frequently than he had before, and no tuition was ever paid, according to the lawyer for Lyle's religious order. When the school requested payment, it got a response on letterhead that appeared to be from DreamWorks SKG, Steven Spielberg's production company. The letter, purportedly from the moviemaker's sister, said the family was paying for a private tutor for Jonathan, which hampered them from paying Paul VI as well.
"We are trying to make a deal with her [the alleged tutor] so Jonathan can be a full-time student at Paul VI," the letter said, adding that "making friends and being in public is very important to him."
As Spielberg's absences mounted, a Paul VI official tried to reach the family through DreamWorks. The call was routed to Steven Spielberg's security consultants in Los Angeles.Kevin Berman, the head of the firm, alerted Fairfax City police to the ruse and later flew to Virginia to help with the investigation, Boone said.
On Jan. 10, Boone arrested Jonathan Spielberg charging him with forgery and submitting false documents to the high school. Police removed videotapes, books and photos from Spielberg's apartment. Two days later, Boone arrested Spielberg again on a charge of forging a public document by allegedly misstating his age on his name-change petition. The following week, he was arrested a third time, on a misdemeanor count of possessing a book that police said has pornographic images of young boys. Spielberg is pleading ignorance on all charges.
