Zachary Horwitz ran a five-year scam that defrauded wealthy investors of at least $227m by claiming to be in licensing deals with Netflix and HBO
It’s a tale about a Hollywood grifter that reads like an outlandish movie script. But this real-life story has left Tinseltown asking how an unknown, peripheral player could have scammed millions from so many investors hoping to cash in on the boom of streaming platforms such as Netflix and HBO.
Last week, Zachary Horwitz, a B-movie actor with a taste for the high life, pleaded guilty to a single count of felony securities fraud, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. But behind the dry legalese of his plea, something more – though not necessarily new – was learned about the hunger for content and profit in the enduring global capital of the movie business.