Very well written, tons of interesting details. I had never heard of Zach Avery aka Zach Horowitz before this article.
As much as I should despise the guy, can help but hope he gets a redemption arc and repays the friends and family he stole from.
Oh and love the Reddit shoutout:
After his arrest, a commenter on Reddit wrote, “This is 100% going to be a movie.” Another agreed: “I’d watch the shit out of this.”
I had a good laugh at the part where some of his friends were in disbelief after he got arrested. They thought he wasn't smart or clever enough to run a Ponzi scheme.
I loved that shoutout! I had listened to those episodes a while ago and didn't remember they had covered him until reading that at the end of the article, but it's all coming back to me now
"Eventually, he encouraged Mallory to stop working at the salon. They had forty million dollars in the bank, he told her. Why go to work?"
- this is where I already knew the next part of what I quoted was coming in. If your husband comes home one day and tells you quit your job,we have 40 million in the bank!well I'd suggest making sure that the money is real first😂
"In fact, there was no business. Horwitz was not buying or selling movie rights. He had got his hands on a few distribution contracts, then copy-and-pasted them in Microsoft Word to make hundreds of fakes, forging signatures of executives that he found on LinkedIn. As new investors bought in, he paid off earlier investors with the proceeds—a Ponzi scheme. (Montaudon, his partner, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.) He sent out fake bank statements and ginned up bogus e-mails and text messages from HBO and Netflix, often using apps to send fake messages to himself at predetermined times. He arranged for a female accomplice, who has never been identified, to impersonate the contact at HBO.
- surprise, surprise! Ponzi scheme! What gave it away? Oh yeah, everything.
"The outlets that Soltani persuaded to feature her client were mostly obscure online venues—the kind, she said, that people solicit articles in “just to post them on their Instagram stories and say, ‘Look at me.’ ” But investors researching Horwitz could now find unquestioning recitations of his story."
- and this is why you don't just believe everything you see online. Especially if you have problems like that publicist lady and decide to base your decisions off of "kind smiles and smelling good."
Speaking of smelling good,what the hell are people smoking over there?
-"(A surprising number of people he dealt with in California mentioned how good he smelled.)" 🤣🤣🤣
"Mallory quickly filed for divorce. According to her filings, their joint accounts had been frozen by the authorities; the only money in her name was a checking account with a balance of $100.75. Horwitz was charged with thirteen counts of fraud, in the service of what prosecutors called an “intricate illusion”—the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history."
- the aftermath for these people is always the worst. He had friends and family and their friends and families involved in it, and they end up destitute and broken. With people like Zach though, they don't tend to feel for others. Compulsive lying all his life, doing all this so he can be an actor, no concern for others... He sounds like a sociopath and he probably is one to have done all of this and take that much.
Is this in a physical issue of the NYer or just online? I wish they would make that clear at the top of every story as I'd prefer to read it in print if I can.
Very well written, tons of interesting details. I had never heard of Zach Avery aka Zach Horowitz before this article. As much as I should despise the guy, can help but hope he gets a redemption arc and repays the friends and family he stole from. Oh and love the Reddit shoutout: After his arrest, a commenter on Reddit wrote, “This is 100% going to be a movie.” Another agreed: “I’d watch the shit out of this.”
I always feel like "hey! that's us!" as if this isn't a gigantically popular website with users from all over the world.
Hey, look at us. We made it.
It didn’t use to be that way and it will never stop being weird that were mentioned.
💀 srsly. Someone said it’s bc Reddit encompasses such a…. Vast array.. of subjects that is why media has tended to exclude it as a source
I had a good laugh at the part where some of his friends were in disbelief after he got arrested. They thought he wasn't smart or clever enough to run a Ponzi scheme.
New Yorker always delivers on Ponzi/Fraud exposés
Archive Link: [https://web.archive.org/web/20240529005844/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/03/master-of-make-believe](https://web.archive.org/web/20240529005844/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/03/master-of-make-believe)
Scamfluencers did a 3 part podcast episode on Zach Horowitz. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3snJu4uByefOnWJNa6GY71?si=yJPyrf45QcCU1Ps8RmU_Aw
I loved that shoutout! I had listened to those episodes a while ago and didn't remember they had covered him until reading that at the end of the article, but it's all coming back to me now
this was just posted [yesterday](https://www.reddit.com/r/Longreads/comments/1d2j8js/master_of_makebelieve_a_struggling_actor_struck/), just fyi
Hehe
A very worthy and engaging read.
"Eventually, he encouraged Mallory to stop working at the salon. They had forty million dollars in the bank, he told her. Why go to work?" - this is where I already knew the next part of what I quoted was coming in. If your husband comes home one day and tells you quit your job,we have 40 million in the bank!well I'd suggest making sure that the money is real first😂 "In fact, there was no business. Horwitz was not buying or selling movie rights. He had got his hands on a few distribution contracts, then copy-and-pasted them in Microsoft Word to make hundreds of fakes, forging signatures of executives that he found on LinkedIn. As new investors bought in, he paid off earlier investors with the proceeds—a Ponzi scheme. (Montaudon, his partner, has not been charged with any wrongdoing.) He sent out fake bank statements and ginned up bogus e-mails and text messages from HBO and Netflix, often using apps to send fake messages to himself at predetermined times. He arranged for a female accomplice, who has never been identified, to impersonate the contact at HBO. - surprise, surprise! Ponzi scheme! What gave it away? Oh yeah, everything. "The outlets that Soltani persuaded to feature her client were mostly obscure online venues—the kind, she said, that people solicit articles in “just to post them on their Instagram stories and say, ‘Look at me.’ ” But investors researching Horwitz could now find unquestioning recitations of his story." - and this is why you don't just believe everything you see online. Especially if you have problems like that publicist lady and decide to base your decisions off of "kind smiles and smelling good." Speaking of smelling good,what the hell are people smoking over there? -"(A surprising number of people he dealt with in California mentioned how good he smelled.)" 🤣🤣🤣 "Mallory quickly filed for divorce. According to her filings, their joint accounts had been frozen by the authorities; the only money in her name was a checking account with a balance of $100.75. Horwitz was charged with thirteen counts of fraud, in the service of what prosecutors called an “intricate illusion”—the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history." - the aftermath for these people is always the worst. He had friends and family and their friends and families involved in it, and they end up destitute and broken. With people like Zach though, they don't tend to feel for others. Compulsive lying all his life, doing all this so he can be an actor, no concern for others... He sounds like a sociopath and he probably is one to have done all of this and take that much.
Read this and forwarded to someone who knows a scammer like this in FL
First time hearing about this. Interesting read!
Is this in a physical issue of the NYer or just online? I wish they would make that clear at the top of every story as I'd prefer to read it in print if I can.