A Hollywood producer bilked movie and enterprise companions out of $12 million, claiming he was utilizing their cash to work on films or different reputable enterprises, however as a substitute utilizing it to purchase costly automobiles, homes and even a surrogate, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
David Brown labored for years as a producer of indie Hollywood productions, burnishing his credentials as a producer of the movie competition darling “The Fallout,” starring Jenna Ortega, which received the narrative function competitors at South by Southwest, in addition to of “The Apprentice,” the film concerning the rise of Donald Trump.
However at the same time as Brown gave the impression to be placing collectively a profitable producing profession, federal prosecutors mentioned, he was additionally defrauding quite a few victims by siphoning funds that belonged to manufacturing corporations and transferring the cash to himself or companies he managed.
In an electronic mail to The Occasions for a 2023 article that documented the path of fraud allegations that dogged him, Brown mentioned he had made errors up to now, however denied defrauding anybody.
“I needed to work actually arduous to get the place I’m at the moment,” he mentioned. “I needed to overcome rather a lot. I needed to battle for my place. … I’m not some unhealthy man.”
Brown was indicted Wednesday on 21 counts of wire fraud, transactional cash laundering and aggravated id theft. He had his first courtroom look in South Carolina.
Prosecutors alleged that Brown, who lived in Sherman Oaks, used a collection of ways to defraud his enterprise companions out of their cash.
He satisfied one sufferer to place cash into an organization known as Movie Holdings Capital, which was alleged to finance movie initiatives. However Brown as a substitute took the individual’s cash and used it for “sustaining his life-style and repaying prior victims … in a Ponzi-like scheme,” prosecutors mentioned.
In different situations, Brown used manufacturing firm funds to pay Hollywood Covid Testing, an organization he managed, “for providers by no means rendered or already paid for,” prosecutors mentioned.
He additionally instructed one sufferer that they might pool cash and make a enterprise flipping homes. He contributed little to the enterprise and used among the sufferer’s cash for different functions, prosecutors mentioned.
Brown made certain to hide his checkered previous from potential enterprise companions. He tried to not allow them to know concerning the 2023 article in The Occasions, or concerning the intensive litigation filed towards him, in keeping with federal prosecutors.
The 2023 article — for which The Occasions interviewed greater than 30 individuals — detailed a collection of allegations towards Brown from his movie companions, together with that he cast Kevin Spacey’s signature and instructed movie traders that Spacey had agreed to behave as a primary character in a movie for simply $100,000. However Spacey had not signed on to the movie and didn’t even know what it was, his former supervisor instructed The Occasions. Brown denied forging Spacey’s signature.
Brown used the cash he stole from his victims to make extravagant purchases, prosecutors mentioned.
He purchased a 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and three Teslas, together with a 2024 Cybertruck, prosecutors alleged. He used the funds to make mortgage funds on his dwelling and to rework the house and used about $100,000 to put in a pool, prosecutors mentioned.
He even purchased a home for his mom utilizing the ill-gotten money, prosecutors alleged.
On high of that, Brown additionally allegedly used stolen cash to pay $70,000 for surrogacy, personal college tuition for his baby and different providers.
In all, he stole greater than $12 million from his victims, prosecutors alleged.
Brown is in federal custody in South Carolina and can enter a plea to the fees at his arraignment within the coming weeks, in keeping with the U.S. legal professional’s workplace for the Central District of California.
