>>9279518 - lb
William Sadleir, 66, of Beverly Hills
"NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday charged the founder and former owner of a Hollywood movie production and distribution company with defrauding a BlackRock Inc investment fund out of about$14 million to pay for luxuries including a Beverly Hills mansion.
William Sadleir, 66, of Beverly Hills, California, was charged with two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft after inducing the closed-end BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust Fund to invest $75 million in his Aviron Group.
Sadleir allegedly promised BlackRock its money would support his films, including through the purchase of $27 million in pre-paid media credits, or "up fronts," with the GroupM affiliate of WPP Plc, the world's largest advertising company.
But prosecutors said Sadleir created the sham company GroupM Media Services LLC and a related bank account to make his activities look legitimate.
They said he then posed as fake GroupM Media employee "Amanda Stevens" to communicate by email with the BlackRock fund about its investment.
Authorities including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed related civil charges, said Sadleir also spent embezzled money to remodel Aviron's offices and buy a $127,000 Tesla, to help fund his "lavish lifestyle."
Sadleir's lawyer in the criminal case could not immediately be identified. A lawyer who has represented Sadleir in civil litigation had no immediate comment. A BlackRock spokesman declined to comment.
The BlackRock fund had $574 million of assets as of May 21. It normally invests at least 80% of assets in debt and loans.
Sadleir was removed from Aviron's helm after the BlackRock fund filed a fraud lawsuit against him and the company in a New York state court in Manhattan, court papers show.
The wire fraud charges carry maximum 20 years prison terms.
The criminal case is U.S. v. Sadleir, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 20-mag-05114. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York)"
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-charges-hollywood-film-distributor-184236290.html
Meanwhile, Los Angeles prosecutors accused Sadleir of taking $1.7 million in PPP loans under fraudulent pretenses.According to prosecutors, he used some of the money to pay his and his wife’s American Express bills, and to make a $40,000 car payment.
In the New York case, Sadleir allegedly told the investor that Aviron had transferred the money to buy $27 million in prepaid media credits, in order to reserve advertising time for the company’s releases. In reality, according to prosecutors, Sadleir had transferred the money to a sham entity that he controlled.
Prosecutors allege that he went so far as to pose as “Amanda Stevens,” a female employee of the fake entity, in email communications assuring the investor that the media credits had been reserved.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil complaint in New York, alleging that Sadleir defrauded BlackRock Multi-Sector Income Trust out of at least $13.8 million. According to the SEC complaint, BlackRock invested $75 million in the company.
https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/william-sadleir-aviron-pictures-ppp-arrest-1234614600/
"Fox News reported on Friday that the bureau will seek to identify whether any current FBI officials "engaged in misconduct" during the investigation, as well as whether or not the agency can improve its investigation process moving forward.
The bureau "does not have the ability to take any disciplinary action" against former employees, the FBI's statement said.
Flynn's plight has received new attention in recent weeks, starting with the stunning Justice Department announcement at the beginning of the month.
Following the department's decision, the judge overseeing the Flynn case, Emmet Sullivan, declined to immediately dismiss it per the recommendation from Justice, instead inviting an amicus curiae brief from retired Judge John Gleeson in support of continuing the case against the general.
Flynn's team this week filed an appeal requesting the dismissal of Sullivan and the barring of Gleeson's brief from the proceeding. A federal appeals court on Thursday agreed to hear Flynn's case against Sullivan, and also, in a rare directive, gave Sullivan an 11-day deadline to explain his handling of the ongoing trial. "
https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fbi-launches-internal-investigation-its-handling-michael-flynn-case
>>9280332 - more from article
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The Gates Foundation — the wealthiest philanthropic group in the world — has come under fire for the way its leaders have slammed President Donald Trump while praising China. Bill Gates recently praised China’s handling of the outbreak, saying that “China did a lot of things right at the beginning.” His remarks were promoted on social media by Chinese state media."
Longtime Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan dead at 78
"Longtime Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan died Friday morning at the age of 78 due to complications from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.
Sloan, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, spent 23 seasons as head coach of the Jazz (1988-2011), and is fourth all-time in wins, going 1,221-803 in his career. He led the Jazz to two NBA Finals and 16 consecutive winning seasons."
https://www.chron.com/sports/rockets/article/Longtime-Utah-Jazz-coach-Jerry-Sloan-dead-at-78-15288706.php