Producers sued Amazon Studios, Vice Studios and director Rebecca Chaiklin on Thursday for allegedly falsely portraying them as accomplices of convicted fraudster Zach Horwitz in the recent documentary series “Hollywood Hustlers: Glam, Glam, Fraud.”
Producer Julio Halivis claims his reputation has been ruined by false suggestions that he acted as an informant and was complicit in Horwitz’s crimes.
Horwitz is serving a 20-year sentence for what federal prosecutors described as a $650 million pyramid scheme. He pleaded guilty to falsifying contracts with Netflix and HBO to defraud about 250 investors.
Harivis was a business partner in 1inMM Productions, which produced several films. Haribis was not involved in the financing and knew nothing about the Ponzi scheme until Horwitz was arrested, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges that the three-part documentary, produced by Amazon MGM Studios and produced by Library Films, Vice Studios and Article 19 Films, repeatedly implicates Haribis in the fraud.
“As a result of Defendants’ desire to sensationalize the series and increase viewership, Haribis’ reputation and career were destroyed, causing him significant personal suffering and loss of income,” the complaint states.
Harivis declined to be interviewed for “Hollywood Hustlers: Glitz, Glamour, Fraud,” which premiered on Prime Video on October 17. The complaint alleges he is a private citizen, setting a lower standard for proving defamation.
The documentary includes an interview with civil attorney Alex Loftus, who reportedly said that Horwitz “couldn’t have done this alone.”
“I think he’s protecting someone in his inner circle,” Loftus said.
The documentary features photos of Horwitz and Haribis together, and includes descriptions of Harribis as being “intense” and “nervous.”
One interviewee reportedly said that Mr. Haribis was paranoid and that “it was like he could see something coming out of the pipe.”
The complaint says the scene is defamatory because it “suggests that Haribis aided Horwitz in his criminal conduct, resulting in him becoming nervous, sad, paranoid, and fearing it was only a matter of time before he was arrested.”
The final episode also includes hints that Harivis and his brother Diego have become informants to help the government’s case against Horwitz, suggesting they should work together to minimize criminal exposure.
In fact, the complaint says Mr. Haribis was questioned only once by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission, but was never informed of any possible wrongdoing.
The episode also includes quotes from Loftus, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of some investors. “If Julio was spending days and nights with Zach Horwitz for months at a time, I don’t understand how he didn’t realize this was an illusion.”
Mr. Loftus also said that while he had no evidence that Mr. Haribis was a fraudster, “there are some things that seem pretty egregious.”
“Even if Loftus had no conclusive evidence, these statements suggest that Haribis is a fraudster,” the complaint says.
According to the complaint, Haribis has been shunned by former business associates, and her own brother has told her that they cannot work together due to reputational damage.
Haribis is represented by Alexander Rufus-Isaacs, a lawyer who has filed multiple lawsuits against Netflix on behalf of people who claim they have been defamed by various shows.
