State of California Sues Movie Producers Over Alleged Ponzi Scheme
The State of California is suing Windsor Pictures, Skylight Pictures, and other associated companies under the allegation that the production companies were running the infamous Ponzi Scheme and received $32 million dollars of unaware investors' money. The suit claims that the companies "targeted unsophisticated senior investors." The suit was filed by Jan Lynn Owen, California's corporations commissioner.
Apparently, the movie Not Forgotten, produced by Skyline Pictures and directed by its CEO, Dror Soref, was presented to senior investors as a "safe investment that would pay a higher return than the savings and investments [the investors] currently held". The movie did horribly in the box office, only earning $54,000, and the investors lost millions of money for putting their faith in this horrendously bad turnout of a film.
Both production companies were disbanded in 2011 along with the checks that were sent out to investors. All of this evidence will be used by the state of California in order to get the $32 million dollars back from the frauds and criminals who ran Windsor and Skylight Pictures.
Why is this important? It proves the relevancy of the Ponzi scheme. To most today, the idea of someone running a scam that all know is doomed to fail seems preposterous, yet in this instance, it is shown that some still use mediocre ways of stealing money. The Ponzi scheme becomes more realistic to the readers now that they have heard of a current, real event that deals with this form of crime. This is definitely something to keep an eye on.
As a student, this article shows that the real world can be conniving and deceitful, and that I always must be on watch for those who try to con me or lie to me. As a filmmaker, this tells me that I must be wary of what company I choose to let produce any future films I might pitch. I would not want my ingenious idea to go to waste at the expense of something as silly as a Ponzi scheme movie production company. As a consumer, this also makes me want to be more cautious. I do not want to invest in something that will not deliver, especially something that I have been lied to about. I must always be on watch in order to not be another countless victim of fraud.
This raises the question of the integrity of the movie industry for many. How do we know who is not corrupt in this place called Hollywood? What can we do to shield ourselves from it? There is not a definite answer for either of those questions, but we still must find our own ways to protect ourselves (and our money) from falling into the wrong hands.
Maybe Hollywood isn't the golden world everyone dreams of. This is just one more piece of evidence to put on top of the growing pile of reasons why it's not.
I Like how the State of California is using all possible evidence to get the 32 million back to the investors that blindly gave their money away. Hollywood isn't as perfect and rich as people think it is. Its mostly corrupt and Box office flops are made every day. Films that fail to break even with the budget they receive
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