A little-known Los Angeles-based actor was reportedly arrested by the FBI on Tuesday for allegedly running an enormous Ponzi scheme where he duped investors by lying about the success of his film distribution company.
Zachary Horwitz, 34, who has had roles in small films under the name Zach Avery, is accused of cheating investors out of $227 million and using most of the funds for himself, The Los Angeles Times reported, citing federal authorities.
Horwitz allegedly enticed the investors by falsely claiming his company, 1inMM Capital LLC, had film licensing deals with Netflix, HBO and other platforms, the newspaper reported.
He also told investors his company distributed 52 films in South America, Africa and Australia, according to court records obtained by the paper, and gifted his funders bottles of pricey Johnny Walker Blue Label scotch.
The actor owes investors roughly $227 million — defaulting on 160 payments to them since 2019, the report said, citing the FBI.
He is charged with wire fraud. At his Tuesday arraignment, Horwitz was released on $1 million bond.