A man who has played small roles in Hollywood films has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme that duped investors out of $650m.
The prosecution said Zachary Horwitz obtained loans for his company 1inMM Capital from 2014-2019 by claiming he was raising funds to buy film rights that would then be licensed to streamers like Netflix and HBO.
In fact the money was never used to acquire rights and instead was used to support a lifestyle that was more becoming of legitimate Hollywood stars and filmmakers and included a multi-million home in the expensive Beverlywood neighbourhood of Los Angeles, as well as a number of cars.
It emerged that more than 200 investors including close college friends lost in the region of $230m. Horwitz was ordered by U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi to pay back that sum.
Zachary Horwitz, who went under the name Zach Avery in his screen credits, was arrested last April and pleaded guilty in October to a charge of securities fraud.
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