24 min
Million Dollar Movie Ponzi Scheme, Part 2 The Perfect Scam
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- True Crime
Beloved Vermont children’s entertainer-turned-filmmaker Mac Parker has been raising funds for his film “Birth of Innocence” for nearly a decade. The film has yet to be completed, and what investors were promised — a three year, $1 million project — has ballooned in both time and cost. When the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation steps in to investigate irregularities in Mac’s fundraising practices, they discover he’s operating a $28 million Ponzi scheme. They dig deeper and find Mac has a silent partner named Lou Soteriou, a chiropractor in Connecticut who is being purposefully hidden from investors. Over the years, Lou has received more than $4 million in payments from Mac. Realizing the scope of the case, Vermont investigators call in the FBI. As federal agents unravel this enormous Ponzi scheme, it becomes clear that the relationship between Mac and Lou is a complicated one. The investigators are left wondering, who really is the mastermind behind this crime?
Beloved Vermont children’s entertainer-turned-filmmaker Mac Parker has been raising funds for his film “Birth of Innocence” for nearly a decade. The film has yet to be completed, and what investors were promised — a three year, $1 million project — has ballooned in both time and cost. When the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation steps in to investigate irregularities in Mac’s fundraising practices, they discover he’s operating a $28 million Ponzi scheme. They dig deeper and find Mac has a silent partner named Lou Soteriou, a chiropractor in Connecticut who is being purposefully hidden from investors. Over the years, Lou has received more than $4 million in payments from Mac. Realizing the scope of the case, Vermont investigators call in the FBI. As federal agents unravel this enormous Ponzi scheme, it becomes clear that the relationship between Mac and Lou is a complicated one. The investigators are left wondering, who really is the mastermind behind this crime?
24 min