A real pearl necklace, a chinchilla fur coat, a pair of Gucci shoes. These are just a few of the many luxury items the antiheroines of Hustlers snatch up throughout the film with money they conned from men. Watching these women spend big money on items we only wish we could get our hands on is oddly one of the best parts of the movie, which opened last weekend. Turns out, though, those exhilarating shopping montages of Ramona, Dorothy, Mercedes, and Annabelle weren't totally made up.
As you may know, Hustlers is based on the true story of four real women, Samantha Barbash, Roselyn Keo, Karina Pascucci, and Marsi Rosen, who allegedly drugged men, took them to strip clubs around New York City, and ran up exorbitant charges on their credit cards. But, how much exactly did the foursome steal from these wealthy men? Definitely enough to buy pearls, furs, designer shoes, and more.
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In June 2014, The New York Times reported that the State Supreme Court in Manhattan had unsealed an indictment describing the arraignment of these four women on multiple counts of conspiracy, grand larceny, forgery, and assault. According to the indictment, the group was accused of stealing at least $200,000 (£160,000) between September and December 2013.
In a 2015 New York Magazine article by Jessica Pressler entitled "The Hustlers At Scores," which inspired the new Hustlers film, Roselyn Keo explains that Samantha Barbash would often talk to the men after they had been drugged and stolen from and convince them they had a good time. "Even if the guy wasn't buying it, once he had weighed the cost of filing a formal complaint, of telling his wife and the police what he actually had done, he'd conclude it was too steep," Pressler wrote. Because of this, not many men came forward, so the women could have actually stolen much more than the $200,000 they were formally accused of taking. Shortly after the women's arraignment in 2014, investigators told the NYT that they were suspected of having drugged dozens of other men.
Only four victims were included in the indictment, according to the NYT. One was a New Jersey cardiologist named Zyad Younan. $135,000 (£108,000) of the $200,000 the women were accused of stealing came from Dr. Younan. A total of $65,000 (£52,000) came from three other unnamed male victims, a banker, a hedge fund executive, and a real estate lawyer, the NYT reports.
Eventually, all four women pled guilty. Keo and Barbash got five years' probation, while Pascucci and Rosen were sentenced to 16 weekends at Rikers Island in addition to five years' probation, ABC News reports. No word on whether or not they had to give back those Gucci shoes.
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