{"id":22378,"date":"2016-04-12T13:32:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T20:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=22378"},"modified":"2016-04-12T13:35:02","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T20:35:02","slug":"man-stole-millions-dollars-investors-duped-independent-movie-productions-sentenced-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=22378","title":{"rendered":"Man Sentenced to 11 Years for His Role in Stealing $17 Million from Investors for Independent Movie Productions"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A Palm Springs man who helped fraudulently raise millions of dollars for independent movie productions \u2013 money that primarily went to the fundraisers \u2013 has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"344972_Cinamourlogo.jpg\"U.S. District Judge John F. Walter<\/strong> sentenced Paul Baker<\/strong> on Monday and also ordered the defendant to pay $2.6 million in restitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baker is the eleventh defendant to be sentenced after each was convicted of participating in a scheme to raise money for two films with false promises of huge returns and misrepresentations as to how investor funds would be used.<\/span><\/p>\n

The scheme raised more than $17 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

While some of the movies were actually produced, the defendants lied, gave half-truths and concealed material facts from investors around the nation, according to court documents. <\/span><\/p>\n

(Baker was previously sentenced to more than 16 years, but that sentence was overturned by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which found an error in how his previous convictions were factored into the sentence.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s conviction by a jury in June 2012 on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and the sale of unregistered securities was related to the activities of Cinamour Entertainment LLC, which bilked investors who put money into independent motion pictures called \u201cFrom Mexico with Love\u201d and \u201cRed Water: 2012.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants in the case raised money for the films through boiler room telemarketing operations, which made fraudulent pitches to investors. <\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the scheme, telemarketers made \u201ccold calls\u201d and solicited investments with false claims, such as that 93 percent of investor money would be used to produce and promote the films, and that investors would receive returns up to 1,000 percent. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, little more than one third of investor funds were used to actually produce and promote \u201cFrom Mexico with Love,<\/strong>\u201d and the second film was never made.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInvestors must beware when presented with extravagant promises of profits,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker.<\/strong> \u201cThese defendants used the glamour of the film industry to make their false promises more attractive, which enabled them to steal millions of dollars from these victims. The sentences imposed in this case are a testament to the dedication and persistence of the law enforcement agencies which dismantled this fraudulent scheme, preventing further harm to victims.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A total of 11 defendants have been convicted in the Cinamour case, including:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n