A Hollywood producer has been charged after allegedly taking $5.5m (£3.3m) from investors for a TV drama he said was backed by US President George Bush.
The US attorney’s office alleges Joseph Medawar, 43, collected money from investors for two years but spent the majority of it on himself. It said Mr Medawar had falsely claimed the White House had endorsed the proposed series, called DHS.
More than 70 investors, including churches, had invested money in the series on the basis that DHS – Department of Homeland Security - had been personally approved by Mr Bush…
Here is the Los Angeles Times’ take, from Boing Boing.net. “Saying his drama had the blessing of President Bush and others in Washington, D.C., Joseph M. Medawar quickly found plenty of backers for the show — one that he promised would be followed by a reality-based series titled “Fighting Terrorism Together.”
Medawar told NPR “I, I — if I may add something, it was very funny. Our head of production turned to Mr. Ridge and said “Who would you like to see play your part? And Mr. Ridge kind of giggled, and he says ‘Hold off two years. Maybe I’ll come back and play it myself.’”
But on Friday, in an ending that might have been foretold by anyone with a healthy skepticism of the Hollywood pitch, Medawar was arrested by FBI and IRS agents on charges that he bilked at least 70 investors — many of them from local churches — out of more than $5.5 million. Virtually all of the money, according to authorities, went to a lavish lifestyle that included luxury cars, shopping sprees, fancy dinners and $40,000-a-month in rent for a Beverly Hills mansion.”
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