How a B-movie actor duped friends and family out of $690M for ‘Hollywood’s biggest Ponzi scheme’
NY Post
An aspiring actor who moved from Indiana to Tinseltown starred in “Hollywood’s biggest Ponzi scheme” — raising over $690 million from family, friends and other investors by convincing them that he ran a successful movie licensing business.
Zachary Horwitz — who snagged bit parts under the stage name Zach Avery in films starring Bryan Cox, Bruce Dern and Olivia Munn — claimed he was negotiating with HBO, Netflix and Sony to license the rights to Spanish-language films, according to court records.
During the five-year scheme, Horwitz preyed on three of his closest college friends, who in turn persuaded their parents, grandparents, siblings and in-laws to raid their life savings.
Horwitz, 37, promised investors returns in excess of 35%, and for many years paid supposed returns on earlier investments using funds from new investments, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
He pleaded guilty in 2021 to securities fraud and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
His brazen plot, which is the subject of a new documentary premiering next month at the Tribeca Film Festival, involved securing loans from his friends in order to finance deals for the rights to movies that would then be sold to large streaming services for a profit, according to authorities.
