Jason Cloth Faces Wire Fraud Charges In Alleged $100 Million Scheme

A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted Hollywood producer Jason Cloth, 60. Federal agents arrested Cloth in Los Angeles on allegations that he ran a $100 million Ponzi scheme over seven years.

The Charges Are Serious

Cloth started a company in Toronto, Canada, called Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp, and the idea was to finance movies. But now he faces seven counts of wire fraud, and each count could end in up to 20 years behind bars.

On top of any possible prison sentence, prosecutors also seek the forfeiture of properties valued at $12.25 million.

An Official News Release

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release that it’s believed Cloth took money from an Illinois investment advisor and other clients from 2019 to 2026.

Allegedly, he and his associates promised to inject the cash into making films and into a gaming business.

The prosecution will look at proving claims that Jason Cloth took “more than $100 million” by using “false representations about the performance and value of their investments.”

The DOJ also alleges that Cloth “engaged in a Ponzi scheme by using some investor funds to repay prior investors,” and put other cash into “the development of a real estate project in Canada.”

Spending Money On Lifestyle

The Guardian reported that prosecutors also allege some of the money funded Cloth’s personal lifestyle, including a Canadian real estate development.

The article quoted David Jonelis, a lawyer who fought Cloth in court for a defrauded investor; he said that Cloth “made a career of telling people whatever they want to hear in order to get what he wants.”

Industry Reactions

WGN News on YouTube covered the fallout from the arrest. Lawyer Alex Loftus spoke to the outlet about how allegedly Cloth misled wealthy backers who didn’t know much about movie financing.

Loftus explained that Jason Cloth brushed off any questions about missing money by telling people, “Oh, it’s just Hollywood accounting and that’s just how it works.”

The report also noted that the FBI started a website where victims can come forward if they lost any investment funds.

Viewer Reactions

Viewers commenting on the video posted on YouTube had plenty to say about the case and the wealthy investors involved.

One of them mocked the investors who lost money, commenting, “Rich people are so dumb.”

Another person felt that investors with money should have done some due diligence before committing to the projects. They wrote, “If his sophisticated clients don’t know anything about how Hollywood works, then maybe they shouldn’t have made the investment.”

Then another person, already assuming guilt, opined, “He can watch his movies on a clear plastic black and white TV with a radio tuner in his cell.”

The Movie Projects

Jason Cloth worked as an executive producer on dozens of films, but court filings mention projects including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Monkey Man.

There was also an NBA docuseries called The Pathway which ended up in a lawsuit in Florida. In that instance, the claimant was awarded $19.6 million.

The Money Lost Across the Board

There were a number of lawsuits that arose from different court filings spread across the country and in Canada. ABC 7 reported that “prosecutors contend that Cloth knew at the time of the investments that he would use the money for other purposes, including the development of a real estate project in Canada.”

Meanwhile, the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada says Cloth raised over $500 million from around 500 investors across Canada and the United States before his company went bankrupt in 2023.

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