A Bay Area man was indicted on wire fraud and other charges after he and another man posed as Hollywood producers to get investors to finance fake projects, federal prosecutors say.
The grand jury indictment charged Avi Fogel, 47, of San Francisco and Christos Chrestatos of New York with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Fogel faces an additional count of wire fraud plus one count of false writings to a government agency.
The DOJ said the pair defrauded investors out of more than $167,000.
According to the indictment, Fogel and Chrestatos claimed to have close ties to “A-list” actors, directors, and other celebrities. Fogel would connect with potential victims on dating apps like Bumble and during shared Lyft rides before pitching fake film and TV projects.
In one case, the owner of a dog toy company wired $5,000 after Fogel said he would include the product in a fake television show called “The Adventures of Whiskers and Paws.” Other purported projects included a documentary series titled “How to Save Your Planet in 9 Easy Ways” and an animated film called “Hanni and the Wildwoods.”
Officials said the men created fake companies, including the Book Media Group, Rhinoheart Films, and Suzy and the Sock Dragon Media Group, to carry out the scheme. They used the latter company to secure a $52,000 loan from the federal government.
Fogel, whose aliases include Avi King, Aaron Rose, and Aaron Rotchchild, surrendered to authorities Nov. 7. Later that day, he appeared in federal court in Oakland. He has since been released on bond.