A Hollywood producer says a hit true-crime documentary about the entertainment industry’s biggest Ponzi scheme falsely framed him as a con man’s right-hand man – damaging his career and costing him a film job.
Filmmaker Julio Hallivis, whose credits include Curvature and Trespassers, is suing Amazon, Vice Studios and “Tiger King” producer Rebecca Chaiklin over “Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam,” a three-part documentary examining convicted fraudster Zach Horwitz’s $650 million.
Hallivis says the series falsely portrays him as Horwitz’s accomplice and implies he knew about the scheme, even though he did not participate in the fraud.
According to the lawsuit, the fall has damaged his career. Hallivis says that after the documentary was shown, the famous actor withdrew from the film project he was developing.
The series chronicles how Horwitz was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022 after orchestrating what prosecutors described as the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history.
Horwitz defrauded hundreds of investors through his company, 1inMM Capital, by falsely claiming that he was acquiring worldwide distribution rights to films that would be licensed to major social networks including Netflix and HBO.
Instead, prosecutors say Horwitz used the investors’ money to pay back former investors, buy a $5.7 million mansion, charter private jets and a lavish lifestyle.
According to court filings, Hallivis says the documentary creates the impression that he was involved in the program through selective editing, photos and comments from people connected to the case.
One example cited in the lawsuit centers on photos of Hallivis and Horwitz together during the Golden Globes in 2018 during Horwitz’s rise in Hollywood.
In the film, Horwitz’s collaborator says the band members never attended the Golden Globe Awards star-studded event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
‘No one really talks about this, but you can rent a hotel room, put on a tuxedo and walk around.
‘According to the country, you were at the Golden Globes,’ said the friend.
Hallivis says the documentary unfairly links him to those claims by showing photos of himself alongside Horwitz, creating the impression that he was also posing as an awards show insider.
The lawsuit alleges that Hallivis was an official attendee of an HBO event connected to the Golden Globes.
The producer also disputes comments made in the film by attorney Alex Loftus, who represented investors allegedly defrauded by Horwitz.
As a picture of Hallivis and Horwitz appeared on the screen, Loftus was heard saying: ‘If Julio spent all day and all night with Zach Horwitz for months at a time, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t know this was a dream.’
Hallivis argues that the statement falsely states that he knowingly participated in the fraud and is therefore defamatory.
He is seeking compensatory, exemplary and punitive damages, as well as removal of the allegedly defamatory content.
Representatives for Chaiklin, Amazon and Vice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam” is still available to stream on Amazon.
