An actor who admitted fabricating HBO and Netflix film deals in a $650-million Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say is the biggest in Hollywood history was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison.
Zachary Horwitz, 35, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi to pay $230 million in restitution to more than 250 victims, some whom were financially ruined in what prosecutors called a crime of “staggering magnitude.”
“His Ponzi scheme was not an aberration from an otherwise law-abiding existence,” Asst. U.S. Attys. Alexander B. Schwab and David H. Chao told the judge in a memo. “The lie, which he sustained for years, was the core of his identity. He was a professional criminal; and, unfortunately for his victims, he was very good at his job.”
Horwitz, whose screen name in a handful of horror flicks was Zach Avery, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in October. He admitted that he forged HBO and Netflix film distribution contracts to trick investors into giving him at least $650 million that he used to finance a “lavish lifestyle” of private jet flights, luxury cars and a Beverlywood mansion with a screening room and wine cellar, according to court records.
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