<p>LOS ANGELES — An aspiring actor was indicted Tuesday in Los Angeles on suspicion of running a massive Ponzi scheme that solicited hundreds of millions of dollars from investors for phony Hollywood film licensing deals, federal prosecutors said. </p>
<p>Zachary Joseph Horwitz, who has appeared in low-budget movies under the screen name Zach Avery, was charged by a federal grand jury with multiple counts, including securities fraud, wire fraud and identity theft, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-05-04/actor-zachary-horwitz-indicted-ponzi-scheme">Los Angeles Times</a> reported. </p>
<p>It wasn’t immediately known if Horwitz has an attorney. </p>
<p>From 2014 to 2019, Avery allegedly he lied to investors to secure $690 million in loans to his film company, 1inMM Capital, prosecutors said.</p>
<p>More than 200 investors, including three of Horwitz’s closest college friends and their family members, lost about $230 million, the Times reported.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said Horwitz told investors that their money would be used to purchase film distribution rights that would then be licensed to platforms such as HBO and Netflix. </p>
<p>But instead of using the funds to make distribution deals, Horwitz allegedly operated his company as a Ponzi scheme, using victims’ money to repay earlier investors and to fund his own lifestyle, including the purchase of a $6 million home, prosecutors said. </p>
<p>Representatives for Netflix and HBO have denied that their companies engaged in any business with Horwitz, according to an affidavit.</p>
<p>Horwitz was arrested April 6 on an initial fraud charge and he spent more than two weeks in jail before his release on a $1 million bond, according to the newspaper.</p>
