Zachary Joseph Horwitz, a film actor from Los Angeles, pleaded guilty.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California in a statement, Zachary scammed investors in a Ponzi scheme, using fake licensing agreements and deals with Netflix and HBO as bait.
The two companies never did business with him or with 1inMM Productions, a company Zachary owns.
Zachary promised investors film rights that he said Netflix and HBO have agreed to distribute abroad, particularly to Latin American, the officials said.
He then promised investors returns in excess of 35%
According to the SEC's complaint, he did this by allegedly showing investors "fabricated email communications with representatives of HBO as well as false collections accounts allegedly showing funds available from HBO and Netflix for distribution."
The overall scheme raised at least $650 million and caused more than $230 million in losses.
In all, Zachary scammed more than 200 investors, including three of his own closest college friends and their family members.
After scamming the investors, Zachary used the money to buy a $6 million six-bedroom house in Beverlywood, a Los Angeles neighborhood south of Beverly Hills, and to pay $700,000 for a celebrity interior designer.
He also used the money to pay off more than $1.8 million in American Express credit card debt, multiple trips to Las Vegas worth more than $100,000, and to fund his own lifestyle.
"Mr. Horwitz has accepted responsibility for his actions, and today’s plea is an important step in that process," said his attorney, Ryan S. Hedges.
The Ponzi scheme eventually came to light, when Horwitz wrote promissory notes to some of his earlier investors through his 1inMM Productions company, suggesting that he couldn't pay up.
Zachary kept on finding new investors and scam them out of their money, and use that money in order to pay earlier investors.
When Zachary was brought to the court, he pled guilty on one count of securities fraud, as he was the person behind the scam that cost investors hundreds of millions of dollars.
"The SEC's complaint charges Horwitz and 1inMM with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws," the complaint continues.
"In addition to the asset freeze and other emergency relief granted by the Court, the complaint also seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Horwitz and 1inMM."
"We allege that Horwitz promised extremely high returns and made them seem plausible by invoking the names of two well-known entertainment companies and fabricating documents," said Michele Wein Layne, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office.
"We obtained an asset freeze on an emergency basis to secure for the benefit of investors what remains of the money raised by Horwitz."
Avery is then arrested on charges of wire fraud, which has a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.
Originally from Florida, Zachary, who is also known as Avery, debuted in the entertainment business in 2009, through the G.E.D film. Then in 2014, he appeared in an uncredited role as an SS medic in the film Fury. In 2018, Avery starred in Hell Is Where the Home Is (also known as Trespassers), as well as in a small role at The White Crow.
He also appeared in Curvature and Last Moment of Clarity.
But as far as his acting career goes, he struggled to find success, and is far from Hollywood's A-listers.
Avery co-founded 1inMM Productions company in 2013 with the Hallivis brothers. The company specializes in production, acquirement, and distribution of content to mainstream audiences.