Crime
Hollywood’s Zach Avery jailed for 20 years over $650m Ponzi scheme
Zachary Horwitz, the American actor better known as Zach Avery, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty of running a $650 million Ponzi scheme.
According to Los Angeles Times, Mark C. Scarsi, US district judge, who convicted the actor on Monday, also ordered him to pay $230 million in restitution to over 250 affected victims.
During the trial, prosecutors said the film star “portrayed himself as a Hollywood success story who branded himself as an industry player.”
The prosecution also claimed the scheme — described as “the biggest scam of its kind in Hollywood history” — took place between 2014 and 2019.
In April 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had arrested the 35-year-old after a complaint by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The commission had said the movie star deceived investors that 1inMM Capital LLC, his film distribution company, has licensing deals with Netflix and HBO.
“Horwitz falsely claimed to have a track record of successfully selling movie rights to Netflix and HBO when, in fact, neither Horwitz nor 1inMM had ever sold any movie rights to, or done any business with, HBO or Netflix,” it said at the time.
The US department of justice had also said several victims — including three of Horwitz’s closest college friends and their family members — lost $227 million invested in the scheme.
Crime
NDLEA arrests returning businessman for smuggling cocaine
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has arrested a businessman identified as an ‘I Just Got Back’ returnee for attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, shared videos of the seized contraband on X.com on Sunday.
The suspect, who had just returned from a foreign trip, initially raised suspicion due to his nervous demeanour.
NDLEA officials subjected him to a routine screening, during which wraps of cocaine began to fall from his body.
The statement said: “Narco-trend update: The moment #ndlea_nigeria officers intercepted an ‘I Just Got Back’ businessman, screened him, and wraps of cocaine began to ‘rain’ from his body. Who will tell them that NDLEA will always get them no matter the mode of concealment?”
Click the link below to watch the video:
Crime
Court jails ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato for tax fraud, corruption
A Madrid court on Friday sentenced former International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo Rato to more than four years in prison for tax crimes, money laundering and corruption.
Judges found Rato who was also a former economy minister in Spain, guilty of “three offences against the treasury, one offence of money laundering and one offence of corruption between individuals,” the court announced in a statement.
Crime
Paul Pogba’s brother sentenced to prison over extortion
A Paris court on Thursday sentenced the brother of France midfielder, Paul Pogba, to a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, after convicting him in a high-profile extortion case.
Mathias Pogba will be able to serve his one-year sentence with an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.
The court also fined Pogba’s brother 20,000 euros for participating in the attempted extortion of 13 million euros ($13.5 million) from Pogba in 2022, and for putting pressure on the player, his family and his business contacts to obtain the payment.
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