Universal Pictures has secured the rights to Never Saw Me Coming: How I Outsmarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System—and Pocketed $40 Million, the jaw-dropping memoir of Tanya Smith, a mastermind who pulled off one of the most audacious financial heists in U.S. history. Janelle Monáe is set to star in the adaptation and will produce through her company, Wondaland Pictures, under its first-look deal with Universal. Smith will serve as an executive producer.
A teenage hacker turned financial system disruptor, Smith’s story reads like a Hollywood thriller. She began her con game young—at just 18, she had already orchestrated multiple heists, amassing millions while staying one step ahead of law enforcement. But when the FBI finally closed in, they refused to believe that a Black woman could be behind such a sophisticated operation. Their underestimation only fueled Smith, who then executed an even bolder scheme—outwitting federal agents while building a $40 million empire of cash, diamonds, and gold bars.
Her meteoric rise made her a target, and soon, Smith was dodging both bullets and badges. Branded “one of the single biggest threats to the U.S. banking system,” she faced one of the harshest white-collar sentences in history. But her genius didn’t stop behind bars—she mounted her own defense, won her freedom, and emerged as an advocate for prison reform, racial justice, and economic equality.
Smith’s memoir, which became an Amazon Editor’s Pick, Barnes & Noble Best Non-Fiction of 2024, Apple’s Best Audiobook of 2024, and The New York Times Best Book of the Summer, isn’t just a crime saga—it’s an unfiltered look at systemic prejudice, economic disparity, and what happens when brilliance is ignored until it’s too late.
This acquisition continues Universal’s streak of adapting high-profile books, joining projects like Britney Spears’ The Woman in Me, Colleen Hoover’s Reminders of Him, Percival Everett’s James, and Stacey Abrams’ Rules of Engagement.
Senior VP of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Development Tony Ducret will oversee the project for Universal.
Monáe, whose acting credits include Moonlight, Hidden Figures, Glass Onion, and Harriet, continues to make bold moves in Hollywood. She is repped by Wondaland Management, WME, ID PR, Ben Rubenfield at Ziffren, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Smith is represented by attorney Mitchell Ostrove at Yorn Levine.