Richard Branson, billionaire founder of the Virgin group, has revealed he was targeted by a fraudster posing as Britain's defense minister who tried to get him to contribute US$5mil to a supposed secret ransom payment. Appealing for information to help identify the conman, Branson said he suspected the same person had later impersonated him to steal US$2mil from a friend of his by pretending to raise funds for people affected by Hurricane Irma.