Zachary Horwitz, a man who operated under the alias “Zach Avery,” has been taken into custody under criminal charges of scamming investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. No, it's not the latest logline for a streaming crime series — it’s real life. Netflix and HBO assisted the feds in tracking down Horwitz, who could now face up to 20 years in prison.
According to Deadline, Horwitz is charged with allegedly defaulting on more than $227 million from backers who were promised licensing rights to HBO and Netflix films in Latin America. “In reality, neither Horwitz nor 1inMM Capital ever engaged in email correspondence with Netflix or HBO, nor did Horwitz 1inMM Capital ever have any business relationship with Netflix or HBO at all,” said an April 5 affidavit from FBI Special Agent John Verrastro. “The email exchanges and licensing agreements were fake.”