A Los Angeles man was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for his role in a $12.5 million Hollywood swindle.
Steven Brown, 48, was one of three men busted in 2016 and charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors with posing as movie producers in order to convince starry-eyed investors to part with their money.
But instead of producing movies starring the likes of Nicolas Cage and Harry Connick Jr., Brown — together with James David Williams and Gerald Seppala — used the money to pay back other investors and buy themselves nice things, including a condo for Brown, prosecutors said.
They got away with it by faking documents, including falsified financial records that reflected investments in the films that never existed, the feds said.
Brown continued to solicit investments in film projects based on false information even after he was arrested, including in 2017, the feds said.
At sentencing, he was also ordered to forfeit his ownership interest in a California property and to fork over $673,028 in criminal proceeds.
His co-defendant Seppala was sentenced to four months in prison in July. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced next month.