An actor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he admitted to scamming film investors out of $650 million.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi sentenced Zachary Joseph Horwitz to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to taking advantage of more than 250 people in five different film investor groups. TODAY reports Horwitz lied to the individuals, claiming he could buy the rights to movies from producers and sell them to HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Netflix for a large amount as consumers moved to stream content.
In return, Horwitz told the film investors they would get 45 percent out of the fake deals. He even provided them with fraudulent paperwork with phony agreements detailing rights to his firm. He carried on his scheme for more than five years, telling his investors he would use their money through his company, 1inMM Capital, to purchase distribution rights in foreign territories.
Horwitz set up his plot when streaming services became more popular later in the 2010s; media platforms were buying up rights to movies to have on their streaming service. Instead of actually doing what he said he would, he used their money to fund a luxury lifestyle. He spent the ripped-off money on expensive cars, private jets and a $6 million Beverlywood home, Yahoo! Entertainment reports.
“Defendant Zachary Horwitz portrayed himself as a Hollywood success story,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said this week, the news outlet reports. “He branded himself as an industry player, who, through his company…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 in real life.”
Horwitz pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud after he was arrested in April 2021. He will now have to pay back $230,361,884 from his scheme and serve 20 years in prison.
