ENCORE: The Hollywood Ponzi Scheme | To Live and Lie in LA | Part III
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Also, if you haven't listened to episode one and two yet, go back and listen to them. All of this will make much more sense. Sarah. Sachi.

Have you ever impersonated someone? Or has anyone ever impersonated you? Um, no, not necessarily. In my youth, I did get catfished on neopets.com by someone pretending to be Hilary Duff. And it worked. I thought I was friends with Hilary Duff.

It was the first time I realized like, oh, people actually do lie all the time on the internet. Yes, they do. And they'll do it with real gusto because the key to a good impersonation is total commitment. Well, for Zach, impersonating others is basically his art. He works in assumed identities the way some people work in watercolors or in clay. And in our final episode, he really pushes the form to its limits.

In January 2020, Zach sits in his home office. It's the one with the framed print of his company motto. Sarah, do you remember it? Unfortunately, yes. When the odds are one in a million, be that one. Aren't you happy to have that information rattling around in your brain? Yeah, and it'll be there forever. For the rest of your life. Well, now the odds are stacked against Zach. He stopped paying his investors back a few weeks ago. And since then, he's been stalling with excuses.

Zach told them HBO and Netflix are late paying him, and that's why he can't pay his investors back. But the investors are losing patience. They want answers. More than that, they want their money. Zach needs someone to vouch for his lies. Someone on the inside. A lawyer. But not a criminal lawyer. At least not yet. He needs an entertainment lawyer. One who works for Netflix.

To find the perfect guy, Zach heads to, where else? LinkedIn. But Netflix has a lot of lawyers. Zach scrolls through profiles until he finds the person he needs. Joel Goldberg. Title, Senior Counsel Content Acquisition.

And then Zach fires up his trusty old fake email app. Oh my God. The email scheduling app that literally all scammers somehow have access to, but no normal person has heard about. Yep. The app he's been using to cook up texts and emails from supposed business contacts for almost a decade, starting with billionaire Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz. His first love.

Well, Zach sends fake Joel an email asking, where is my money? And in his response, fake Joel, aka Zach, says he's fully aware of the problems Zach has been having. And naturally, he'll look into what's holding up the payments ASAP. He's low-key scripting his own workplace drama. I mean, can you imagine like sitting at home and sending emails to yourself back and forth?

It's so crazy that he's doing all of the work of fiction and acting without ever getting to actually do it properly.

Yeah, well, fake Joel also has terrible work-life balance. But the email looks real. It appears to be sent from a Netflix address, and it even has the Netflix logo in the signature. Zach writes a reply to the fake Netflix email, saying that Netflix's accounting department had promised payment by the end of the day. So to recap, Zach is writing an email to himself, but pretending that one of him is a Netflix lawyer.

Okay, so now his fake self is arguing with his other fake self. Honestly, this man's an artist. This is performance art, Sachi. I would see his one-man show.

Well, the email exchange is proof that the problem isn't with Zach. It's with Netflix. So Zach forwards this creative writing exercise to his investors in Chicago and in Las Vegas. Oh, those guys he owes more than $8 million to? Well, at this point, he owes them much more than $8 million. Like, much, much more. Remember those $25,000 a day late fees? How could I forget? Zach assures them that he's on the case.

He's working hard to get them paid. It's just an accounting mix-up. These things happen. It's business. It's annoying, but their investment is safe. Zach thinks he's like everyone else in Hollywood. He's just one box office smash away from solving all of his problems. But the reality is, he won't be able to outrun his investors forever. From Wondery, I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And this is Scamfluencers.

In our last episode, Zach pursued a double life. One Zach ran a Ponzi scheme around movie licensing deals, and the other Zach starred in surprisingly legit movies. In our finale to this story, people start to catch on that Zach's business deals are as fake as his movie star credentials. Zach's facade of Hollywood success comes crashing down, leaving his victims holding the bag.

This is episode three, To Live and Lie in LA.

In March 2020, the consequences of Zach's long con start coming home to roost. Do you remember what March 2020 was like, Sarah? Oh yeah, I remember thinking my life was gonna end. Yeah, it was chaos and despair and confusion and panic. And that's what it's like for Mallory Horwitz too. Plus she's seven months pregnant. On top of a global pandemic and imminent childbirth, Mallory receives an unsettling DM on Instagram.

Sarah, can you describe this account for me? The username is at godissofuckinggood. That's nice. Yeah. And their profile picture is of a graphic called, What is a Ponzi scheme? And their bio includes a phrase, Karma is a bitch. Not wrong. So I'm sensing there is a bit of hostility coming from this account. Yeah, it's pretty intense. And the message that she gets is just beyond creepy. Sarah, can you read that as well? Yeah. It goes...

Hey, three exclamation points. Oh my. Are you all going to be at Jason Page's funeral? Zach, Craig, and Phil? I can't wait to meet everyone. When are you due? Is your hubby home? Prayer's your way. Okay, that's not what I was expecting from this Karma is a Bitch account. What the hell does this mean? Who are these people? Well, I'm not sure who Craig and Phil are, but I do know the name Jason Page.

Jason is one of Zach's investors. And just before Mallory gets this Instagram DM, Jason is found dead in his home. His obituary doesn't state a cause of death, but there's definitely been speculation around it. In a later court declaration, Mallory suggests that Jason may have died by suicide. Oof.

Like by suicide because of the scam? Well, that's the implication. And again, it's unclear, but we do know that Jason was part of the Vegas group with Jim. He ran a feeder fund that collected money from downstream investors. He had two kids and he was in deep. Zach owed his company more than $10 million. ♪

At this point, Mallory doesn't even know who Jason is. But the when are you due and is your hubby home bits are frightening enough. So finally, Mallory confronts Zach.

But Sarah, what do you think Zach tells her? I mean, a part of me thinks like this is the perfect opportunity for him to come clean to his extremely patient and trusting wife. But I have a feeling he does not do that. Well, you better believe he lies through his teeth. But at least he does admit that things aren't great.

Zach tells Mallory that HBO isn't paying him and that his investors are sending him death threats because he can't pay them back. Okay, so for Zach, that is almost honest. Kind of. I guess my question here is, does Mallory buy it? Like,

She just saw an infographic on how Ponzi schemes work. Like, isn't she just at least a little bit suspicious of what's going on here? Well, we can't know what Mallory is thinking or feeling in that moment, but whatever Zach tells her, it's enough.

To her credit, she's seven months pregnant, there's a pandemic, and the last thing she needs is more stress. So Mallory accepts the story about HBO, and she goes back to focusing on their growing family. Mallory lets Zach off the hook. As the weeks go by, the pressure on Zach gets more and more intense. Investors are hounding him, he scrambles for excuses, and for a while, 2020 plays right into his hands.

He tells Jim Russell, the Las Vegas investor who's the most upset about not getting paid, quote, You know what? Great job, Zach. To use the pandemic as a cover for your illegal schemes is kind of masterful, in my opinion. Well, then in April, Mallory gives birth to their son, Cameron.

So just as the novelty of the pandemic wears off, Zach has another excuse to give to his investors. New parenthood.

I mean, in some ways, he has two of the most perfect excuses. Like, yes, there is a pandemic that's undeniable. And yes, having a kid is pretty challenging. Yeah. And I mean, I'm sure Zach loves his kids. And yes, having a newborn at home does give you an excellent explanation for being flaky. If his communication is a little spotty, it's because he was up all night changing diapers or giving bottles. All of those things are important tasks.

But these excuses, global and personal, can only buy Zach so much time, especially with Jim Russell sending him messages day and night. Jim wants documents, emails, anything to confirm the payment terms from HBO.

But Zach finds a way out of forging more documents in this case. What he says to Jim is that his lawyers have advised him to stop forwarding emails or sensitive info from HBO without their consent. He says it could be considered a breach of confidentiality and could slow down the whole process of getting their money back.

Okay, here's my question, Sachi. Why hasn't Jim taken Zach to court yet? Like, what is stopping him? It's been so long. Honestly, I have no idea. I feel like if I was that rich, I would have sued this person like 10 times over. But Zach keeps feeding him crumbs. There's good news on the way. He can share more soon, but not yet. This back and forth drags on for months.

And then finally, in October 2020, Zach tells Jim he's got good news. He has a new, final contract with HBO. He's just waiting for HBO to execute. Jim seems relieved. He writes to Zach, I appreciate how hard you have worked on this. It looks like we're finally over the hill. So at this point, we know this is not real. But what can Zach do at this point? Like,

Like, is he actually doing anything to try and make it right and pay his investors back? Like, also, I'm just shocked Jim believes any of this. Yeah, I mean, I don't know what he could really do at this point. The new contract with HBO isn't real. But hemming and hawing over fake legal details buys Zach a few more months. Zach updates Jim on partial payment clauses, escrow accounts, etc. Jim's lawyers keep working on it. And Zach keeps giving updates that make it sound like the ball is moving forward.

But as Zach gives news of incremental progress, the pressure builds. He just doesn't have the money to

And then in December, Jim asked to talk on the phone, like immediately. And Zach says he's in Big Bear and that there's a crazy snowstorm. He has horrible service. Could Jim just send an email? Oh, my God. You know, when people would make the phone seem like it's crackling with a piece of paper. Yeah, they would like crinkle a gum wrapper next to it. He's like, I'm in the mountains. Yeah.

Zach spends his holidays dodging phone calls and coming up with these feeble excuses. And little does he know that Jim, though persistent, is not actually his biggest threat. Another investor is about to make a move. And it sets off an absolute firestorm at one of the companies he's been impersonating.

In late 2020, Zach gets discovered by someone at Netflix, but not in the way that up-and-coming actors hope for. You know what? You saw that one? I saw that coming. Melinda Lemoine is in the first few weeks of a new job as director of content litigation at Netflix when an unusual case crosses her desk. It's a subpoena. That's not unusual. I mean, Melinda can handle subpoenas in her sleep.

Before Netflix, she spent 17 years rising to partner at an LA law firm, mostly dealing with commercial litigation in the entertainment industry.

She's got blue eyes, an infectious smile, and real courtroom presence, thanks to her time studying theater at Barnard. Her love of the arts runs deep. So this Netflix job is pretty much perfect for her. Yeah, exactly. But this subpoena? It's weird. It's from lawyers representing a Chicago-area asset manager named Marty Kaplan. Marty's a finance executive who invested millions in 1&MM. Ooh!

And his lawyers want documents relating to 1&MM and to Zach Horwitz. But Sarah, those documents, they just don't exist. They don't exist. They're not real. Nothing's real. Nothing's real. And when a Netflix lawyer tells them as much, Marty's lawyers come back with something bizarre. And it gets Melinda's full attention. It's a contract between 1&MM and Netflix. Or at least it looks like one.

Because when Netflix's lawyers look into it, no such contract exists in their system. In fact, no one in accounts payable has ever heard of one in MM.

Oh, and Marty's lawyers also forward the emails between Zach Horowitz of 1&MM and Joel Goldberg, a lawyer at Netflix. Oh my God, fake Joel. Okay, this is so juicy. I know. It's happening. It's happening. Alter egos are colliding. So Melinda hadn't been on the job that long, so she doesn't know all of her coworkers. But when she checks, she finds out

Joel Goldberg doesn't work for Netflix anymore. He'd already left by the time he was supposedly emailing with Zach. Oh my God. Is this entire scheme going to collapse because Joel Goldberg didn't update his LinkedIn? This is all the fault of LinkedIn. Update your link. Actually, don't update your link. The moral of the story is never use LinkedIn.

One of Melinda's colleagues writes back to Marty's lawyers and they drop a huge bomb. The documents they sent are fake. And she says that the fact that they have these bogus contracts is of grave concern to Netflix.

She demands to know where they came from so that, quote, we can understand what further actions we need to take. And pretty soon, those further actions signal the beginning of the end for Zach's acting career and his finance career. Zach Horwitz and Zach Avery are about to face their brutal downfall. Sarah, get your popcorn ready. It's finally happening. It is.

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It's a Friday afternoon in early February. After months of back and forth between Netflix's lawyers and Marty Kaplan's lawyers, Netflix is ready to mount an all-out defensive attack. Melinda Lemoine, our hero, sends a cease and desist to Zach and Zach's lawyer, telling him to stop impersonating their employees and forging emails and contracts.

The next Monday, Zach's lawyer writes back a single sentence. Oh, Sarah, this is brutal. Are you ready? Yeah. This is to inform you that K and L Gates is no longer representing one in MM. Oh my God. Zach's shit is so messy. His lawyer's like...

Yeah, it finally happened. Zach got straight up dumped by his lawyer. His real lawyer. Yeah, a real person's like, no, no, no, no, no. Zach's house of cards is seriously on the verge of collapse.

Sarah, I feel like you know Zach pretty much as well as anybody could. What do you think he does next? Okay, I have to recalibrate my mind. In Zach logic, he doubles down, triples down, quadruples down, whatever it is. He's like, no, I did nothing wrong. Yeah, 100%. That's exactly what he does. He writes back to Melinda and it's...

It's really good. So here's what he says. Okay, I apologize.

I'm looking into that matter. By that he means when he fabricated, you know, all these deals and emails and the millions of dollars he took from people. It's you. It's his whole bag. This is all you. You created these characters. Sarah, be chill. Everything's cool. He's looking into it.

He's putting on the whole cool and collected act, at least over email. But there are signs that he's starting to grasp how bad the situation actually is.

He and Mallory start having serious conversations about moving. They both agree that they don't want to raise a family in L.A. And they even take a trip to Austin to see if it might be a better fit. Plus, they talk about Nashville, too. I love that they're like, we can't have a baby here in this city. Yeah, these people are going to influence our kids. We can't raise children in this city, guys. It's so unethical. It's so, who knows who's going to influence them?

And we don't know how sincere he is about not wanting to raise a family in L.A., but he does seem pretty fucking serious about getting the hell out. He and Mallory actually put their house up for sale. The asking price for the house is $6.5 million. And with HBO and Netflix still holding out on Zach...

They need that money. The house he bought with nothing. This is the house that nothing built. Zach hopes that he can leave L.A. quietly and maybe some of his problems behind. But his investors are sick of being jerked around. They're starting to take action. And the consequences are about to escalate from strongly worded emails to a whole lot more.

So in February of 2021, Zach is facing fire from all sides. There's Jim Russell from Las Vegas, who's texting him on the daily. There's Marty Kaplan from Chicago, who has triggered alarms at Netflix about Zach's phony contracts. And now another battlefront opens up. Scott Cohen, a businessman in Irvine, California, who's $15 million deep in the scam.

Scott is in his 50s, and he's the father of six-year-old twin boys. Apart from investing in movie deals and real estate, he runs a coffee company. They have carts on college campuses. But with the pandemic, the coffee cart business is struggling. Zach has been stalling Scott, just like the others, with excuses about payment delays and dealer restructuring and corporate mergers and all this red tape. And at this point, Scott is at his wit's end.

He's been waiting 13 months without seeing a single dime from Zach. Again, I am just impressed that Zach's been able to bullshit all these guys for so long. Like we're talking over a year with zero payments. Yeah. And it's not just about Scott because Scott recruited some of his friends to invest too. In all, he's got a group of 35 investors who want to know what the fuck is going on.

He suspects that something sketchy is happening with Zach. So Scott does something quite drastic. He sends an email to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and he writes, people are beyond the point of me managing them, and they are really in need of answers. Scott just doesn't see another way, and he's about to bring the full force of the U.S. government down on Zach's head. Things are going from really bad to unfathomably worse.

So 2,000 miles across the country in Chicago, Jake Wonderland has been struggling to manage his own downstream investors. You know, all those people he recruited to give money to 1&MM. Do you remember Jake? Yeah.

Yeah, he was Zach's friend from college. He went to go visit him and was his first investor. So like a totally normal guy who worked in finance. Yeah. And Zach made Jake a lot of money. Yeah, he quit his day job to focus on 1&MM, right? Yeah, he did. And so Jake and a few of his Chicago finance bro friends, they formed an entire company just to pool money to invest in 1&MM. Oh. They raised $1,000.

tens of millions of dollars. And the investors they found weren't like all high-flying finance types. They weren't super rich. They convinced their friends and family that this was a sure bet. So

So people handed over life savings and retirement funds, everything they had. Oh, my God. And I mean, they did because Jake saw returns. Yeah, he did. But now Jake and his partners are struggling to answer questions about what happened to that money. They've been stalling, passing on explanations from Zach and emails from Netflix, and they're

They're providing constant updates and promising them that things will work out. Yikes. They keep telling them they're going to get their money back. But by the end of February, Jake and his buds are at the end of their rope. It really starts to sink in. They know that they've been conned.

I guess at this point, I'm wondering, like, did they just realize this or was it something they kind of inherently knew this like for a while at this point? Because things weren't adding up for like, what, the last year? Yeah, I mean, I don't know when Jake realized it, but I do kind of understand why it took him so long to get there. I mean, Zach was one of Jake's oldest friends. You know, they went to each other's weddings. They'd been doing business together for more than seven years. And Zach had made Jake a top...

a ton of money. Yeah. It wasn't like he didn't see returns. So I'm sure it was really hard to wrap his head around the idea that his old friend was like a straight up liar. And also like Jake was in finance. So admitting that you got snowed and by one of the oldest finance cons in the book,

I wouldn't want to say that out loud. Yeah. And then there's all the friends and family who took him at his word and who trusted him with their life savings because he trusted Zach. Oh, that's a big one. So for Jake to admit that he was being conned, he also has to admit that he was a

part of the con. So on top of breaking the trust of everybody he knows, he knows that people are going to sue his ass off. Yeah, I mean, Jake's got to be in a dark place at this point. Oh, he is. But get this, the minute Jake and his partners ask their lawyers to investigate one in MM, it takes them a singular calendar day to figure out that Zach has been running a Ponzi scheme.

Oh, that can't feel good. One day. Do you feel bad for Jake? Yeah, I think I do because that's a betrayal on so many levels, right? His friend betrayed him and then his friend also used him as like a tool to fuck with other people. That can't feel good. And I do get it. It's like, how would he know if he's getting returns? It seems like Zach was really strategic about who he sent money to and who he didn't. I do feel the exact same way. I think there were a lot of points where Jake couldn't

could have seen like, this is a bit weird. He could have looked into it. Especially because Zach's career never popped off. Yeah. But I do feel so bad for him. I mean, he got flossed and he ended up flossing a bunch of very innocent people as well, so. Well, no matter what, Jake realizes he has to tell his investors. Mm-hmm.

On March 1st, Jake and his partner send an absolutely wrenching email. I cannot imagine. Like, I write for a living. I have no idea where I would begin in writing an email like this. But here's what they say. Very recently, as part of our ongoing efforts to address 1&MM's nonpayment, we learned information that leads us to believe 1&MM deceived and defrauded its investors.

This development is obviously very serious and deeply troubling. The email continues. We are extremely distressed, as we expect you will be too. Yeah, I honestly do not envy Jake in this position at all. Like, what are you even supposed to say? There's no good way to say it. No, thoughts and prayers. Thoughts and prayers.

While Jake is absolutely reeling from having to let his friends and family know that all of their savings have disappeared, he gets another email and it's from Zach. Sarah, can you read a quote from it? Yeah.

1&MM is not in a position to cover the full cost of litigation, so options on the table are sharing the financial burden with investors. Is he saying what I think he's saying? Yeah, man. Zach is asking him for more money to sue Netflix and HBO for non-payment. No. Yes. Yes.

Jake reads the email again and again. And finally, in disgust, he hits the forward button. Because at this point, Jake has finally, finally given up on his friend. And he's about to turn to the highest authority yet to bring Zach to justice. He sends Zach's email to the FBI. Oh my God. Oh my God.

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It's April 6th, 2021, the day the FBI raids Zach and Mallory's house at 6 a.m. Yeah, I remember when you first told me this story, I didn't know how to feel, but now I'm kind of relieved and also shocked that it took this long. Well, all of the lies have finally caught up to Zach.

The FBI drag the entire Horowitz clan out of bed and change their lives forever. They search the house for evidence. They handcuff Zach and hold him in the backyard for an hour. They lead him away as Mallory and the kids watch it all, confused and in tears.

Okay, that's really crazy. Like these people are innocent as far as we know. They have no idea what's going on. There are children involved. And I'm wondering, does the FBI actually find any money? Like did Zach have some of his cash stored in floorboards or in some of those toilets they weren't using? Oh, Sarah, I have some news for you. Oh God.

If you had to guess, how much money do you think he had like liquid in his personal bank account, let's say? Honestly, he at one point boasted $40 million. So like...

After all this, there has to be at least like hundreds of thousands of dollars. Well, at this point, he has about $3,000 in his personal bank account. No, he doesn't. Yeah. And his 1MM accounts have less than $4,000. Oh, my God. That is nothing. He didn't even take cash out and hide it like other, you know, con artists. Yeah, this is not like a narco situation. Like, there's no money. Okay.

But I have even worse news. No. It's really bad for Mallory. Yikes. Their house was sold and it's an escrow. So their assets are now frozen. Mallory doesn't even have a car. And she can only access one checking account that doesn't have Zach's name attached. Are you ready to hear how much is in that account? No. I'm going to tell you anyway.

In that account, she has just $100.75. Oh my God. Yeah. And she used to work. Like she did have her own money at some point. Yeah. And now she only has $100.75. Yeah.

Like what happens to her now? Luckily, Zach's family lives nearby. Zach's mom and sister and brother-in-law came to the house to be with her and the kids. And then she goes to stay at Zach's mom's condo the next day. And that is where she starts piecing everything together. So this is when she ends up finding out her entire life for the last 10 years has basically been a lie? Yep.

The SEC tells her that he's accused of running a Ponzi scheme and that the movie deals were never real, that he never actually worked with Netflix or with HBO or with Howard Schultz. Oh my God. She starts to think about all of the stalling, the excuses, all of the lies that spanned the past decade.

She combs through her memory trying to determine what was real and what wasn't. And now she just feels sick.

After Zach's arrest, Mallory also starts getting threatening text messages from numbers she doesn't recognize. Oh, God. One of them says, don't let that scum take you on the run and destroy Jackson Cam even more than he already has. That is scary. Like this person knows her kids' names and is using like these nicknames. Yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty bad. The next one goes right to the point. It just says, you're next. That's scary.

That's so cruel. And I do understand being someone who was victimized by Zach and thinking like, yeah, his wife obviously knew. How could she know that she was sleeping beside a total stranger? But it's so crazy. Like you don't send that to someone. Well, naturally, Mallory is now ready to leave town. Zach is in prison for two and a half weeks before posting a $1 million bond.

When he gets out, Mallory makes him stay at an Airbnb. He watches her pack all her things in boxes and ship them to Indiana. And on May 1st, he drives Mallory and their kids to the airport. They fly to Indiana to move in with Mallory's parents. A month later, Mallory files for divorce. In the court papers, she says Zach has been deceiving and manipulating her and everyone around him. "'He is not the person I believed he was,' she says."

Their whole life together was a lie, an act. And it's now come to a bitter end. We're going to fast forward a few months, Sarah, to October 2021. Mm-hmm.

Zach is in court. He pleads guilty to one count of securities fraud. And according to reports, he's actually soft-spoken and cooperative. Wow, turns out Zach knew how to act this whole time. Well, four months later, Zach is in court again. It's the big moment so many people have been waiting for. He's finally going to be sentenced for his crimes.

Zach stands before the judge in a sharp blue suit and a black mask covering his face. His lawyers argue that, yes, he made mistakes,

but he shouldn't have to miss watching his kids grow up. They also asked the judge to consider his mental health and addiction issues. Oh yeah, because he and Mallory fought about his like drinking and Adderall and Xanax habits. But I mean, that usually doesn't lead people into, you know, doing a giant Ponzi scheme. Yeah, it's a rarity. According to court documents, Zach is now in a recovery program.

But some of Zach's victims speak in court. One of them is Scott Cohen, the guy who reported Zach to the SEC. Sarah, can you sum up some of his testimony? Yeah. Scott says he had to file for bankruptcy. He's struggling to support his two young sons. He's on food stamps. He lost everything to Zach. And his other business was shut down due to the pandemic. He says Zach's just another Bernie Madoff.

Oh, that is dark. I mean, is he wrong? He's not wrong. Like, he lost everything he built because of Zach. Well, the prosecutor actually reads out a couple victim impact statements, and all of them are so heartbreaking because everyone just lost everything they had. The last victim statement is from a 64-year-old who lost $1.4 million. Can you read that one too? Ooh.

Sure. They wrote, "I have had to return to work to afford food and shelter. I will never be able to earn that amount of money back by working."

Part of that money was an inheritance from my mother's passing. I am emotionally distraught. I cry every day and have stopped seeing friends or family because of the shame of this financial loss and have a now severe distrust of other human beings. If it was not for my spiritual beliefs, I would have committed suicide.

It's awful. Literally all of it is awful. I can't read any more of these. This is so messed up. And it's like a lot of the focus initially is, of course, on the people who are investing millions and millions of dollars into this. But for a regular person to lose all this money, that is... It almost seems like he didn't even think about the fact that

he was like taking people's retirement funds and the money that they would use to take care of themselves and their children. No, it's so brutal. Yeah, it is.

Well, in the end, the judge orders Zach to pay $230 million in restitution to more than 250 victims. Prosecutors call the Ponzi scheme a crime of staggering magnitude. Zach turns to the judge in tears. I hope you consider the whole man, not just the atrocious decisions that got me here.

Understatement of the year. You lost your way? You engineered this. Zach Horwitz is sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a $650 million Ponzi scheme. Oh my God. I mean, and what about Zach Avery? Oh, well, you know, they say there's no such thing as bad press, and he's certainly getting the fame he always craved.

But it's just too bad. It's for running the biggest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history. Sarah, you know what time it is. It is time for our Zach Avery movie marathon. No, it isn't. I keep telling you, I'm not doing that with you. All right, well, you will watch one of his movies. I promise you that. It is time to run this whole thing through our scam influencer index.

So for people playing along at home, our index is based on both scam and influence. So that means the size and complexity of the scam and the influencer reach. Oh, I like this game, even though there's no real way to win. So on a scale of one to 100, where do you feel like Zach falls on our index? So one is like a drooling baby could do it. And 100 is like the smartest supervillain in the world could only pull this off.

you know what? Zach, as embarrassing and corny and like stupid to us as he is, Yeah.

He did manage to somewhat pull off the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history that we know of. And we're talking about an industry that is rife with scams. And he was able to get hundreds of millions of dollars from people. So based on that alone, as far as the scam goes, I'm giving it a 90. I was going to actually say the exact same thing.

I am curious, though, what you think about influence. Like, you know, his movies never really popped off, nor did his acting career. I mean, the funny thing is, is that he did all this work to be a famous actor and no one...

knew he was one. Like everyone just thought he was a business guy. Yeah, he never got anything based on his own skills or talent. Yeah. I mean, he never auditioned and they were like, we want you. It was because he invested in something or he knew someone. And even in being like a super rich person, he still couldn't find a way to buy a role in a movie that didn't suck. Yeah, nor was he even able to improve on his acting skills. Like we saw that review where they were like,

he's like a black hole in this movie or whatever. Personality vacuum. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, for influence, I'd probably give it like a 40. Yeah. Because he was clearly good enough to like convince other people to keep giving him money, but he didn't convince anybody that he was talented. Exactly. And I feel like that's kind of the thing that he could never do. As much money as he got from people, he could never truly convince anyone that he had any sincere skills. Yeah.

Well, we're going to cover a whole lot more scams in future episodes about people who are not at all who they seem. And until then, always, always, always keep your own checking account. And if a billionaire emails you, no, he didn't. He didn't. He did not email you. No. This is episode three of our three part series, The Hollywood Ponzi Scheme. I'm Sachi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. We

We use many sources in our research. A couple that were really helpful were Michael Finnegan's LA Times article and Nathan Vardy's Forbes magazine story. And just a quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what took place, but everything in our show is grounded in research.

Susie Armitage wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Hagee. Jen Swan is our senior producer. Brian Taylor White is our producer. Charlotte Miller is our associate producer. Sarah Enney is our story editor. Our senior story editor is Rachel B. Doyle.

Our audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Adrian Tapia provided audio assistance. Our sound design is by James Morgan. Our executive producers are Janine Cornelow, Stephanie Jens, and Marshall Louis. For Wondery.

If you like Scamfluencers, you can listen to every episode early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.