The low-budget horror movie star who terrorized investors with a $650 million Ponzi scheme based on fake deals with HBO and Netflix was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday.
Zachary Horwitz, 35, received the punishment in a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles after pleading guilty in the case last October. The judge also ordered him to pay $230 million in restitution.
“I lost my way,” Horwitz told U.S District Court Judge Mark Scarsi ahead of the sentencing, calling himself a “flawed and broken man.”
A woman sitting with Horwitz’s family burst into loud sobs when the prison term was given. One victim who appeared in person to deliver an impact statement appeared pleased with the lengthy sentence but shook his head in disgust when the judge said Horwitz, who has two young sons, could wait until March 14 to surrender.
Horwitz’s lawyers had asked for leniency…
