Zach Avery alias Zachary Horwitz was sentenced to 20 years in prison on February 14, 2022, for his role in a $1 million Ponzi scheme perpetrated by his company 1inMM Capital. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Central District of California, Avery defrauded investors of $650 million by claiming the money would be used to license films for Netflix and HBO’s international releases.
However, the allegations were untrue, and Zach Avery used the money to support his extravagant lifestyle. According to the most recent court records, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi additionally ordered the actor to pay restitution for $230 million.
Everything you need to know about Zach Avery
Zachary Horwitz, often known as Zach Avery in cinema, is an American actor. He was born in Berkeley, California on December 5, 1986. His parents split when he was 10 years old, and he eventually went to Indiana to live with his mother and stepfather. The 35-year-old graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and began working for a career in Hollywood. Avery made his cinematic debut in 2009 with a part in G.E.D.
Zach Avery starred in the 2011 film Game Time before co-founding 1inMM Productions in 2013. Avery launched Key Entertainment. The actor appeared in Feign, Nameless, and Shifter and the 2014 military drama Fury. He starred as the titular character in the 2016 short film The Laughing Man and in the 2017 feature Curvature. Between 2018 and 2021, Avery appeared in films such as Hell Is Where the Home Is (Trespassers), The White Crow, Farming, Last Moment of Clarity, You’re Not Alone, The Devil Below, and The Gateway. The California native is married to Mallory Hagedorn, with whom he has a son.
What exactly did Zach Avery do?
In the year 2021, the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued the actor for breaching federal securities laws. On April 5, 2021, he was arrested on wire fraud charges for scamming over $650 million in a Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors claim Avery defrauded almost 250 investors out of $650 million between 2014 and 2019:
“Defendant Zachary Horwitz marketed himself as a Hollywood success story.” He positioned himself as an industry participant, using his firm to sell foreign film distribution rights at a consistent premium to online streaming platforms like HBO and Netflix…However, as his victims discovered, [Horwitz] was neither a successful businessman nor a Hollywood insider. He’d just finished playing one in real life.”
Avery’s organization apparently named Netflix and HBO as “strategic partners,” claiming that the streaming giants will distribute at least 52 films throughout Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. The Fury star also guaranteed investors a return of more than 35%. However, the promises fell through when 1inMM Capital defaulted on its promissory notes in 2019. In an effort to extend the contract, the business also informed investors that the streaming platforms had failed to make timely payments for distribution arrangements.
Netflix and HBO helped uncover Zach Avery’s fraudulent plan, which led to his imprisonment. Avery utilized the investment money to maintain his luxurious lifestyle, which included a $6 million Beverlywood home, a private jet, luxury cars, and a large credit card debt.
