Movie Producer Guilty Of Scheming To Defraud Filmmakers Of $60M: DOJ

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Following a six-week trial, a federal jury in Fort Lauderdale convicted a 44-year-old former actor and movie producer of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering related to his role in a financing scheme that defrauded movie and theater producers of more than $60 million.

Jason Van Eman of Bartlesville, Oklahoma told his victims he was a film producer and financier and offered to fund their independent motion pictures, Broadway shows, music festivals and other productions.

He promised his victims that his partner, Benjamin McConley, a co-conspirator in the case, would match any cash they contributed to their projects, the DOJ said. He told them that McConley would use their combined starting capital, which made the projects more attractive to investors, to secure funding from financial institutions.

Based on these lies, victims sent over $60 million to accounts controlled by Van Eman and McConley, the DOJ said. Despite what Van Eman promised their victims, his partner never matched their cash contributions or applied for financing.

Instead, Van Eman and McConley stole the victims’ money by transferring it to their personal and corporate bank accounts, often within days of deposit, according to the DOJ

To make the scam more believable, they recruited Benjamin Rafael, a bank employee, to work with them. His role was to assure victims that their cash contributions had been matched and that their money was secure — neither of which was true, the agency said.

The three men used the stolen money to purchase luxury automobiles, personal watercraft, real estate, jewelry, home furnishings, designer clothes, hotel accommodations, and private and commercial air travel. Van Eman also used some of the stolen cash to fund movies in which he was cast.

Van Eman is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21 and faces up to several decades in prison.

McConley previously pled guilty in this case and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Rafael was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment for participating in two frauds: the film financing scheme and concealing his criminal history on applications for COVID-19 relief.

Movie Producer Guilty Of Scheming To Defraud Filmmakers Of $60M: DOJ originally appeared on the Miami Patch