An actor in low-budget films was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of running a $ 227 million Ponzi scheme that invited investors to fake movie licensing deals, federal prosecutors said.
Zachary Joseph Horwitz, whose screen name is Zach Avery, was charged with wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to a statement by the US attorney. It was not immediately known whether Horwitz has a lawyer.
Prosecutors said Horwitz, 34, told investors their money would be used to buy movie distribution rights that would then be licensed to platforms such as HBO and Netflix.
But instead of using the money to negotiate distribution deals, Horwitz reportedly operated his company 1inMM Capital as a Ponzi scheme, using the victims’ money to repay previous investors and to fund his own lifestyle, including the purchase of a $ 6 million home, prosecutors said.
Representatives for Netflix and HBO have denied their companies were doing business with Horwitz, an affidavit said.
Horwitz will be charged on May 13.
Horwitz’s credits as an actor include low budget features such as ‘Trespassers’, ‘The Devil Below’ and ‘Last Moment of Clarity’.
The latter starred Horwitz (Avery) as a drifter in Paris who believes that an actress he saw in a movie could be his late girlfriend. He “makes a pretty good lead,” wrote one reviewer. The movie also starred Samara Weaving and Brian Cox.
Here’s a trailer for that movie, reportedly released digitally in May 2020:
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