Stand-In Charged In Love Scam Woman Gave Heart, And Money, To Man Posing As Movie Actor

She was a beautiful, twice-divorced mother of two with a generous heart, willing to do anything to help her man.

He was actor Michael Biehn, who had major roles in movies, including “The Terminator” and “The Abyss.”

Or so she thought.

In August 1994, she sent Biehn a fan letter, enclosing lingerie to make sure it would get his personal attention. It did, and he and some friends called her from a party.

Over the next 2-1/2 years, she sent him boudoir photos and home-baked cookies. She also sent $68,250, cashing out her retirement fund and persuading her mother to take out loans, believing she was helping Biehn through a divorce and that he planned to marry her.

But Biehn didn’t receive the gifts and knew nothing of the relationship, authorities said.

In April, a private investigator hired by the Sacramento, Calif., woman told her that Biehn’s first call to her had been his last. From then on, she had been corresponding with Michael Myette, a 31-year-old con artist with a criminal record who had lived with Biehn’s manager and handled the actor’s fan mail, according to investigators.

“It was the equivalent of telling her that her fiance had died unexpectedly,” said Charlotte Blasier, the private detective who unraveled the scheme. “Telling her that your money and your mother’s money is never going to be paid back … that was so devastating.”

Myette, who had moved back to his mother’s hometown of Nashua, N.H., was arrested Aug. 7, charged with mail fraud and assuming a false identity to commit mail fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. He is free on $50,000 bail.

Myette did not return a telephone message for comment. Lawyer George Gormley said his client would plead innocent at his arraignment Sept. 26.

“We look forward to resolving this case,” Gormley said.

According to Blasier and court records, this is what happened:

Right after the real Biehn called the 39-year-old woman, whose identity has not been disclosed by authorities, Myette began calling and writing to her, pretending to be Biehn.

“They talked about her children, her former husband’s terminal illness,” Blasier said. “They were talking about having children and picking out names. He very, very skillfully manipulated her.”

The letter-writer told her he was divorcing his wife, who had put a freeze on his assets, and asked the woman for financial help, telling her to send it to his best friend, “Michael Myett.”

The letters continued after Myette moved to Nashua in March 1995, with tales of financial emergencies ranging from death threats by bookmakers to a need for bail money to get out of jail on drug charges.

“Each time she got suspicious, he would promise her a longer, brighter rainbow,” Blasier said.

Myette allegedly spent the money on stock, a car, a Rolex watch and an engagement ring for his real-life girlfriend.

Biehn, who played the man from the future who helps Linda Hamilton in “The Terminator,” repeatedly refused to comment, but police said he has cooperated fully since learning about the scheme from Blasier.

“She got taken for a real ride,” said William Ricker, a U.S. postal inspector. “I’m not sure if it’s due to his slickness or her wanting to believe. But evidently, he’s gotten away with making women believe him, because he got married a week after he was arrested.”

Blasier said her client is generous and sincere.

“It made her feel like it was a spiritual experience at first, because she was able to help out this famous multimillionaire. She had become his confidante, his love,” she said.

“If Michael Biehn the actor … had flown in and picked up her whole family in a private jet for a fabulous wedding, everybody would have talked about how wonderful it was that she and her family banded together in his hour of need to help him out.”