Hollywood actor charged with fraud in alleged multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme, court documents show cnn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an asset freeze to halt an alleged $690 million Ponzi scheme operated by a Los Angeles actor who lied about having deals to sell films to Netflix and HBO.
Zachary Horwitz and his company, 1inMM Capital LLC, claimed he was raising money to buy movies that he intended to resell, the SEC said in a Tuesday statement. In reality, he had no business relationship with either Netflix or HBO and relied on fabricated contracts and fake emails to swindle investors, according to the regulator.
The U.S. Justice Department separately issued a statement saying the FBI had arrested Horwitz Tuesday. He uses the screen name Zach Avery and was criminally charged with raising $227 million that has yet to be repaid as part of a scheme in which he falsely claimed he would acquire rights to films that Netflix and HBO would distribute abroad, according to the statement.
Who Is Zach Avery? Meet The Actor Arrested In Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme By Danielle Taylor
04/07/21 AT 10:47 AM
Actor Zachary J. Horwitz, better known as Zach Avery, has been arrested for allegedly embezzling money for personal benefit as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.
Horwitz was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles in connection to a hefty Hollywood Ponzi scheme, in which national authorities claim that he swindled investors out of more than $227 million, People reports.
The 34-year-old actor, whose credits include roles in “The White Crow, “Last Moment of Clarity,” and as an extra in Brad Pitt s 2014 war movie “Fury, has been accused of contriving licensing deals with HBO and Netflix to obtain money for his own film distribution company, 1inMM Capital LLC.
He and his company promised 35% returns by reselling film rights to Netflix and HBO
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained an asset freezing order during an emergency enforcement action against Los Angeles-based actor Zachary Horwitz and his company 1inMM Capital.
The regulator alleges that Horwitz and his firm ran a Ponzi scheme which raised more than $690m (£500m, €580m) by telling investors they were buying film rights to then resell them to Netflix and HBO.
But 1inMM had no business relationship with either company, the SEC added.
According to the watchdog’s complaint, Horwitz – whose screen name is Zach Avery – claimed to have a track record of successfully selling movie rights to the two entertainment giants, when neither he nor his company had ever sold any or done any business with the two companies.