By PAUL SHAPIRO, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: 02:30 EST, 4 January 2026 | Updated: 02:30 EST, 4 January 2026
A convicted conman who tried to use Hollywood's A-List to reel in an Aussie NBA star is now facing fresh claims he's left countless more empty-handed after a string of failed deals.
Joshua Howlett first made headlines when he claimed to be making a movie about Cleveland Cavaliers star Matthew Dellavedova's rise from rural Victoria to NBA fame.
He tried to lure in the star by claiming Tinsel Town heavyweights including Woody Harrelson, Nick Nolte and Liam Hemsworth were keen to be involved.
But the project fizzled out when Howlett, 36, vanished after his conman past was exposed.
Now he's back amid allegations he kept one budding actor in talks for over a decade after taking more than $70,000 from him with almost nothing to show for it.
'People need to know who he is,' one alleged victim told the Daily Mail this week.
'He needs to be stopped - it's disgusting what he's done.'
Howlett, 36, was convicted in 2019 when he admitted obtaining financial advantage by deception and was sentenced to a three-year community correction order.
Convicted conman Joshua Howlett has been accused of owing people money
It was reported Liam Hemsworth was a possibility to play Dellavedova in the movie
Howlett attempted to rope in Aussie NBA star Matthew Dellavedova (left) to a movie deal
Melbourne County Court heard Howlett conned a doctor into investing $150,000 into a film called 'Better Half' in 2016 in return for his daughter starring in it.
Filming began in November 2016 but the production halted the same month when the funds disappeared, the court was told.
It was revealed Howlett had spent the cash on personal items, including fines, rent, travel, clothing, food and drinks.
At the same time, Howlett was trying to tie up the deal to tell Dellavedova's story but the star's manager, Bruce Kaider, revealed they killed the project after concerns about Howlett.
'Josh wasn’t the kind of person we like to do business with,' Mr Kaider admitted in 2020
'We didn’t want anything to do with him. I could tell early he was a snake, we deal with sharks every day in the sports industry so I started calling him out on his bulls***.
'We started noticing things, behavioural changes, we heard things about him, people started messaging us, he owed money, he owed our partners’ money.'
Now though, Howlett, who is believed to have relocated to the Gold Coast, is back - and he has a fresh trail of unhappy business partners calling him out.
Sydney actor Ben Taylor claimed Howlett left him out-of-pocket $70,500
Howlett was convicted of conning a doctor out of $150,000
A Sydney actor and a Melbourne couple both claim to have been left out-of-pocket after alleged failed business ventures with Howlett.
Howlett allegedly received more than $70,000 over several years from Sydney actor Ben Taylor to produce three projects.
Mr Taylor told Howlett in February 2014 he had an idea for a movie called 'Discovering Amy' before handing him $15,000 to help get it into production.
Howlett told Mr Taylor he had Hollywood connections and allegedly said he could secure funding for the movie by the end of 2014.
However, Mr Taylor, now 34, claims he only ever received an 11-page 'story treatment' which Howlett claimed was written by Aunty Donna star Mark Bonanno.
But at another meeting in the lobby of Sydney CBD's Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, Mr Taylor pitched a second film project to Howlett called 'Fun Trip'.
'I'm so f***ing excited about Fun Trip, this sounds like a good idea,' Howlett allegedly told him.
Mr Taylor claims he gave Howlett another $50,000 - loaned from his parents - after Howlett allegedly promised to match it to secure a $250,000 Screen Victoria grant.
'I was so excited - oh my god, he is talking to so many people, he told me there was a chance we could film Fun Trip, I was on cloud nine,' Mr Taylor told the Daily Mail.
In 2019, Mr Taylor paid Howlett a further $5500 for a TV show project which Howlett also said was a 'good idea'.
Mr Taylor said Howlett boasted about being close to Hollywood director Baz Luhrmann and TV presenter Livinia Nixon and was involved in the Logies.
Howlett claimed he was close to Australian director Baz Luhrmann (above)
Howlett is said to have promised to move to Sydney in 2023 and work solely on Mr Taylor's three projects but based himself in Byron Bay instead.
'He kept saying, "We're going to do stuff",' Mr Taylor said.
'I cancelled all my odd jobs - finally, all my hard work, small pains for long-term gains, was about to come to fruition...but it didn't.
After being kept on the hook for a decade, Mr Taylor finally confronted Howlett this year after finding an old newspaper article which exposed his conman past.
He had tackled Howlett in 2020 over the lack of action but his fears were dismissed.
After being kept on the hook for a decade, Mr Taylor finally confronted Howlett this year after finding an old newspaper article which exposed his conman past.
He had tackled Howlett in 2020 over the lack of action but his fears were dismissed.
'I screamed at him, "I've gotten nothing! I've been asking for contacts and got nothing" - then he turned on me,' revealed Mr Taylor.
'He said, "You do not know how that makes me feel, being called a crook, a fraud - how dare you!"'
Mr Taylor claimed he was then given another 11-page treatment and four pages of writing for the Fun Trip project which he said was 'terrible'.
'My mum asked if we can get the money back,' Mr Taylor said.
'But I wanted to believe there was a real movie being made because I've given money, I needed to get something out of this.
'I was very sad and angry, I had thought he was just trying very hard but he was just a bad producer. He sweet-talked me for so long, I was in his slipstream...'
The couple said Jamie (left) was hired to help on a Vogue photo shoot
In their final confrontation in March, Mr Taylor claims Howlett allegedly told him to keep quiet and threatened to take out a restraining order against him
'He got me good, he is a master, I broke down and stayed in bed for four days. He is ugly, he is a manipulator,' Mr Taylor said.
'He's wreaking havoc, I just hate him so much, I want him to go to jail. I have no qualms about that.
'He's wasted a decade of my life. I thought I was going insane - I understood later I was being gaslit.'
Melbourne couple Mel Matulin and her photographer partner Jamie Etherington told the Daily Mail they were also left out-of-pocket after dealing with Howlett this year.
The couple said Howlett hired Jamie for a purported Vogue shoot but he was allegedly never paid, and neither were the stylist nor the model.
Ms Matulin said she created Facebook posts in several photography pages and groups alerting others to watch out for deals involving Howlett.
The Melbourne mum told the Daily Mail she received dozens of responses from others who had 'horrific experiences', including some 'very vulnerable people'.
Melbourne mum Mel Matulin (above) said she posted warnings in several Facebook photography pages and groups about Howlett
'He's ruined some people's lives along the way,' Ms Matulin told the Daily Mail.
'People need to know who he is. He needs to be stopped - it's disgusting what he's done to others and to Ben, that poor boy.
'He is an incredibly manipulative and, in my opinion, dangerous person, who has done horrible things to many people.'
Mr Taylor said he will report Howlett to Victoria Police and the Office of Public Prosecutions.
The Daily Mail contacted Howlett for comment but he referred all enquiries to his lawyer.