Emily Chan
In one of Hollywood’s biggest financial scandals, a B-movie actor named Zachary Horwitz orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of millions of dollars.
He did so by convincing them that he ran a successful movie licensing business. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
Known professionally as Zach Avery, Horwitz played parts in films starring actors like Bryan Cox, Olivia Munn, and Bruce Dern.
Over a span of five years, from 2014 to 2019, he raised approximately $690 million from friends, family members, and other investors.
He claimed that his company had secured licensing deals with major platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Sony for the rights to Spanish-language films, which would lead to substantial returns for those who invested.
During the five-year scheme, he scammed three of his closest friends from college, who persuaded their own family members to invest their money.
Horwitz used new funds to pay supposed returns on earlier investments in classic Ponzi scheme fashion. He kept up the act by sending fake licensing agreements and forged emails from executives of the corporations he claimed to be working with.
He even hired a woman to pretend to be an HBO executive who would speak to his investors on the phone and answer any questions they had about their investments.
However, the deals with large streaming services were all made up, and he used the money from investors to fund a lavish lifestyle. He purchased a $6 million home near Beverly Hills, where he lived with his wife and child.
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