Jason Cloth, the Canadian financier who has dozens of Hollywood executive producer credits and structured studio slate co-financing deals, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago for allegedly defrauding clients out of more than $100m.
Cloth faces seven counts of wire fraud after an indictment unsealed in court on Tuesday alleged that between April 2019 and June 2026 the 60-year-old procured funds from clients after telling them the money would be invested in film and entertainment projects and a gaming platform.
The indictment alleged that Cloth, who founded the now-defunct Toronto-based Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp. and is listed as executive producer on tentpoles including Joker, Longlegs, and Babylon, knew that he would use the money for other projects including a real estate project in Canada and for personal purposes.
Cloth was arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday and appeared in a Los Angeles court. Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison. In addition, the indictment seeks a minimum $12.25m in forfeiture from Cloth.
The indictment alleged Cloth falsely told investors that the value of their investments were more than they were worth, falsely claimed he could not access their funds because of a production company bankruptcy, and ran a Ponzi scheme to use investor funds to pay back previous investors.
During his Hollywood career Cloth positioned himself as an influential financier with studio ties, structuring co-financing deals with MGM and Warner Bros through Bron Creative, a joint venture between Creative Wealth Media and former Toronto-based producer and partner Bron Studios, which is not mentioned in the indictment.
In a separate matter in 2021 Bron Studios and Creative Wealth Media were named in an investor lawsuit in New York. Bron filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US and creditor protection in Canada in 2023 in the wake of Covid and the Hollywood strikes.
Creative Wealth Media declared bankruptcy in 2023. In the last five years Cloth and Creative Wealth Media have been the target of several fraud allegations. In an unresolved matter, Ontario Securities Commission in Canada has alleged he and Creative Wealth Media diverted at least $70m from investors into other projects and used money to repay prior investors.
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