Actor indicted in $227M Ponzi scheme involving film rights

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An aspiring actor was indicted in Los Angeles Tuesday on suspicion of running a massive Ponzi scheme that solicited hundreds of millions of dollars from investors for phony Hollywood film licensing deals.

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.

It wasn’t immediately known if Horwitz has an attorney.

The Los Angeles Times says more than 200 investors, including three of Horwitz’s closest college friends and their family members, lost about $230 million.