The playboy con man who dated Anne Hathaway and stole millions from investors could be out of jail soon and heading back to his native Italy.

Friends and family of silver-tongued wheeler-dealer Raffaelo Follieri, 31, say he’s hoping to be sprung and returned to Europe as early as this month, despite his having completed just two years of his 4½-year sentence.

Follieri would be eligible for early release under the federal prisoner-transfer program that allows foreigners to serve out their sentences abroad.

Follieri’s lawyer, Flora Edwards, said there were “no ongoing negotiations” for an early release, and that her client would not become eligible to be returned to Italy until May 2012.

“There’s always a hope that might happen,” she said. “But there’s nothing concrete that I can talk about.”