Zachary Horwitz, American actor better known as Zach Avery, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of running a $650 million Ponzi scheme which he used to finance a lavish lifestyle of yachts, jets and fast cars.
Recall that in April 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had arrested the 35-year-old after a complaint by US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The commission had said the movie star deceived investors that 1inMM Capital LLC, his film distribution company, has licensing deals with Netflix and HBO.
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Avery created fake contracts that he told investors were with HBO and Netflix to trick them into handing over vast sums of money, which he splurged on private flights, top-of-the-range autos and a luxury Los Angeles mansion, complete with a wine cellar.
“Horwitz portrayed himself as a Hollywood success story,” prosecutors said, according to the Department of Justice.
The prosecution also claimed the scheme — described as “the biggest scam of its kind in Hollywood history” — took place between 2014 and 2019.
They stressed;
He branded himself as an industry player, who… leveraged his relationships with online streaming platforms like HBO and Netflix to sell them foreign film distribution rights at a steady premium. But, as his victims came to learn, (Horwitz) was not a successful businessman or Hollywood insider. He just played one.
Horwitz, who acted in small-time horror films under the name Zach Avery, told investors he was buying foreign distribution rights for US movies, and then selling them to streaming platforms.
The 35-year-old gave each victim a note promising a handsome profit six or 12 months later.
Over seven years he kept the scheme going by using new investors’ money to repay the old ones. By the time it all fell apart, more than $230 million had vanished.
US department of justice said three of Horwitz’s closest college friends and their family members are some of his victims.
He admitted security fraud in October, and acknowledged that he had never bought any film rights, or secured any distribution contracts.
It would be “difficult to conceive a white-collar crime more egregious,” prosecutors said in a memo to the judge, noting he started his life of crime by swindling university friends, according to the Los Angeles Times.
They wrote;
He began by betraying the trust of his own friends, people who lowered their guard because they could not possibly imagine that someone they had known for years would unflinchingly swindle them and their families out of their life savings.
Horwitz was jailed for 20 years, and ordered by Judge Mark Scarsito to repay $230 million to over 250 affected victims.
