2024-04-11 sec-litreleases litigation_release 64 KB 2,123 chars

SEC v. Zachary J. Horwitz, No. LR-25973, Central District of California (Apr. 11, 2024) — Press Release

raw: Zachary J. Horwitz

Zachary J. Horwitz, No. 2:21-cv-02927 (Apr. 11, 2024)

Caption: Pero v. Davol, Inc.

summary

The SEC obtained a final judgment against Zachary Horwitz for orchestrating a $690 million Ponzi scheme involving fabricated movie rights deals with Netflix and HBO.

paragraph

Zachary Horwitz was charged with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and Exchange Act after defrauding investors of over $690 million. He used fabricated agreements to promise returns exceeding 35% and misappropriated funds for personal luxuries like a multi-million dollar home. The court ordered disgorgement and interest totaling approximately $74 million, which was deemed satisfied by a $230,361,884 criminal restitution order.

narrative

The SEC obtained a final judgment against Zachary Horwitz for his role in a $690 million Ponzi scheme. Horwitz falsely claimed to have a track record of selling movie rights to Netflix and HBO, using fabricated emails and agreements to solicit investments. He promised investors returns in excess of 35% and used funds from new investors to pay earlier ones. Additionally, Horwitz misappropriated investor capital for personal luxuries, including trips to Las Vegas and a multi-million dollar home. The court permanently enjoined him from violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and Exchange Act. While the SEC ordered disgorgement of $62,847,901.05 plus $11,375,011.28 in interest, these amounts were satisfied by a parallel criminal restitution order of $230,361,884.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: ponzi (100%)
Court: Central District of California
Case No.: 2:21-cv-02927
Outcome: charged · 2024-02-14
Disgorgement: $62,847,901
Entity: Zachary J. Horwitz

Classified ponzi(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 35% / precision 15%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 5

$690.00M $690 Million $100M–$1B
$690.00M $690 million $100M–$1B
$230.36M $230,361,884 $100M–$1B
$62.85M $62,847,901 $10M–$100M
$11.38M $11,375,011 $10M–$100M

Entities 9

person douglas m. miller
person kathryn wanner
person lorraine pearson
person restitution order
agency sec litigation
agency Securities and Exchange Commission
person spencer bendell
person zachary horwitz
scheme_term zachary horwitz with an alleged ponzi scheme

Triples 18

Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against Zachary Horwitz on February 14, 2024
Securities And Exchange Commission charged Zachary Horwitz with an alleged Ponzi scheme
Zachary Horwitz falsely claimed track record of successfully selling movie rights to Netflix and HBO
Zachary Horwitz never sold any movie rights to HBO or Netflix
Zachary Horwitz showed investors fabricated agreements and emails regarding purported deals with HBO and Netflix
Zachary Horwitz promised investors returns in excess of 35%
Zachary Horwitz paid supposed returns on earlier investments using funds from new investments
Zachary Horwitz misappropriated investor funds for personal use
Zachary Horwitz purchased multi-million dollar home
Zachary Horwitz took trips to Las Vegas
Zachary Horwitz paid a celebrity interior designer
Horwitz was ordered to pay disgorgement of $62,847,901.05
Horwitz was ordered to pay prejudgment interest of $11,375,011.28
Restitution Order required Zachary Horwitz to pay $230,361,884 to his victims
SEC Litigation was led by Kathryn Wanner
SEC Litigation was supervised by Douglas M. Miller
Investigation was conducted by Spencer Bendell
Investigation was conducted by Lorraine Pearson

View original SEC litigation releasesec.gov

Extracted body text (2,123c)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 25973 / April 11, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zachary J. Horwitz, et al, No. 2:21-cv-02927 (C.D. Cal., filed Apr. 5, 2021) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Zachary Horwitz in Connection With a $690 Million Ponzi Scheme On February 14, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against Zachary Horwitz, who the SEC charged with an alleged Ponzi scheme that raised over $690 million. The complaint alleged that Horwitz falsely claimed to have a track record of successfully selling movie rights to Netflix and HBO when, in fact, he had never sold any movie rights to, or done any business with, HBO or Netflix. Horwitz allegedly showed investors fabricated agreements and emails regarding the purported deals with HBO and Netflix. The complaint alleged that Horwitz promised investors returns in excess of 35%, and for many years paid supposed returns on earlier investments using funds from new investments. The complaint further alleged that Horwitz misappropriated investor funds for his personal use, including the purchase of his multi-million dollar home, trips to Las Vegas, and to pay a celebrity interior designer. The Court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Horwitz from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Horwitz was also ordered to pay disgorgement of $62,847,901.05, representing net profits gained as a result of the conduct alleged in the complaint, together with prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $11,375,011.28, but that disgorgement figure and prejudgment interest were deemed satisfied by the restitution order entered in the parallel criminal action United States v. Zachary J. Horwitz, Crim. No. CR 21-214-MCS (C.D. Cal.), requiring Defendant to pay $230,361,884 to his victims. The SEC’s litigation was led by Kathryn Wanner and supervised by Douglas M. Miller, and the investigation was conducted by Spencer Bendell and Lorraine Pearson.

OCR text (2,123c · html-text · 99% conf)