Southern California man surrenders in $14M movie scam
A Southern California man who allegedly scammed $14 million from investors by falsely telling them their money would be used to produce a feature film has surrendered to federal authorities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Tuesday that 41-year-old Adam Joiner is charged with wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. It wasn’t immediately known if the Manhattan Beach resident has an attorney.
Prosecutors say Joiner used fake documents and forged signatures to raise millions from investment firms in South Korea and China for a project called “Legends.” The fake film was to be an anachronistic mash-up of legendary and historical figures from nineteenth century America — including Davy Crockett, Calamity Jane and Paul Bunyan.
Joiner allegedly told investors that Netflix had agreed to distribute the picture.
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