A Hollywood actor, more gifted for swindling than for comedy, was sentenced on Monday February 14 to twenty years in prison by a Los Angeles court for having extracted 650 million dollars from investors using fake contracts with the Netflix or HBO platforms.
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Accused of having organized for almost seven years this incredible pyramid fraud scheme which allowed him to feed a lavish lifestyle, Zachary Horwitz, 35, was also sentenced to repay 230 million dollars. The approximately 250 victims identified by the investigators, many of whom were friends of Zachary Horwitz and who were sometimes totally ruined by his embezzlement, however have little chance of ever seeing the color of their money again, gone in private jets, car of sport and luxurious villa.
Zachary Horwitz claimed to buy the regional film rights to then monetize them with a large profit from major broadcasters like Netflix or HBO for distribution in Latin America. He used the money taken from some to repay the others, with interest that could reach 25% to 45%. But when this Ponzi scheme collapsed, $230 million was missing.
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“Zachary Horwitz presented himself as a Hollywood success story (…) But as his victims learned the hard way, he was not a successful businessman or a Hollywood insider. He was just playing a role.”, summarized the prosecutor’s office in their indictment. The actor, who appeared in thrillers or horror films under the stage name of Zach Avery, had admitted the facts last October. He had admitted never having bought any distribution rights and fabricated fake contracts bearing the names of prestigious video-on-demand platforms.