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Fight Club Author Chuck Palahniuk Allegedly the Victim of Embezzlement

By June 2, 2018Authors, News

Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk is allegedly the victim of an embezzlement scheme at his lit agency.

Writing on his website, Palahniuk told how the “chain of events leaves me close to broke.”

The New York Post broke the story when an accountant was arrested by the FBI for allegedly embezzling over $3 million from Palahniuk’s literary agency- Donadio & Olson.




According to Palahniuk his income had begun to diminish several years ago.

Others told him various reasons for the slowing of his income: “Piracy, some people told me,” Chuck wrote on his blog, “Or the publishers were in crisis and slow to pay royalties, although the publishers insisted they’d sent the money.”

Unfortunately it was not slow royalties or publishers in crisis- someone behind the scenes was allegedly skimming money illegally.

The Dept. of Justice stated in a news release that in fact bookkeeper Darin Webb, 47 had “provided bookkeeping services for the Agency and carried out his scheme by making unauthorized transfers from the Agency’s bank accounts, and then making changes to the Agency’s accounting system to evade detection.”

Allegedly, the scheme began in 2011 and ran until March 2018 during which Webb had stolen money in payments ranging from $1,000 to $75,000. If found guilty Webb could face up to 20 years in prison.

Also commenting on his website, the author wrote: “All the royalties and advance monies and film option payments that had accumulated in my author’s account in New York, or had been delayed somewhere in the banking pipeline, it was gone. Poof. I can’t even guess how much income.”

The missing money explains why Palahniuk hasn’t been able to stage his usual big shows on his book tour. His tours are full of props and prizes and proved very popular but cost more than $10,000 to stage.

“It was justified in my mind because most of my readers had never attended an author reading, and I wanted their first to be exceptional. But when my income stopped, when I had to choose between health insurance and autographed rubber arms… the shows stopped.”

Chuck is keeping his cool and has stated:

“On the plus side, I’m incredibly rich. Rich beyond my ever imagining, with friends and readers who’ve rushed to my rescue. Since the crime was uncovered, people have offered their children’s college funds. They’ve offered to mortgage their houses to keep me afloat. They’ve come forward with legal advice and stop-gap, hands-on help.”




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