Actor Arrested in Alleged $690 Million Ponzi Scheme

Actor Zach Horwitz, who went by the name Zach Avery in such films as The Devil Below and Curvature, was arrested Tuesday in Los Angeles for allegedly orchestrating a Ponzi scheme to the tune of $690 million. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission froze Horwitz’s assets and those of his company, 1inMM Capital. Horwitz, 34, allegedly brought in $227 million from investors on promises that he would buy film rights and resell them to Netflix and HBO when in fact he had no relationship with, or contacts within, either company. According to the SEC, Horwitz lied to his investors and fabricated a track record of successfully buying and selling film rights, all while promising investors returns on their investments of 35 percent or more, an astronomical rate. To satisfy prior investors, he allegedly paid them with funds from new investors even as he used the money to buy a $6.5-million home and hire a celebrity interior designer. He is charged with wire fraud and has been released on a $1 million bond.