{"id":5144,"date":"2026-07-29T19:06:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5144"},"modified":"2026-07-29T19:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T19:06:38","slug":"jason-cloth-babylon-and-joker-financier-indicted-in-alleged-100-million-ponzi-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5144","title":{"rendered":"Jason Cloth, \u2018Babylon\u2019 and \u2018Joker\u2019 Financier, Indicted in Alleged $100 Million Ponzi Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nJason Cloth, a financier with executive producer credits on \u201cJoker,\u201d \u201cBabylon,\u201d and \u201cGhostbusters: Afterlife,\u201d has been indicted in Chicago on allegations that he ran a $100 million Ponzi scheme.<\/p>\n

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\n\tCloth, 60, faces seven counts of wire fraud for allegedly lying to investors about how their money would be used. According to the indictment, he took money intended for a film project and a gaming platform and used it to pay off investors in a Canadian real estate project.<\/p>\n

\n\tCloth was arrested on Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Chicago.<\/p>\n

\n\tCloth has faced several suits from investors who accused him of absconding with their money. In in Chicago, a group of investors alleged they were swindled out of $80 million, which was intended to finance \u201cGhostbusters: Afterlife,\u201d \u201cMonkey Man,\u201d and other films.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe\u2019s been at this for so long,\u201d said Alexander Loftus, a Chicago attorney who filed the suit. \u201cThe core Cloth sales pitch is that he invested in \u2018Joker\u2019 and that was a huge financial success. He didn\u2019t tell them he way oversubscribed and stiffed the investors \u2026 Every time, he uses the new thing to pay off the first thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe plaintiffs reached a class action settlement last year with Sanford Schmidt, the adviser who recommended the investment to clients. The plaintiffs are still seeking to recoup some $60 million from Schmidt\u2019s insurance carrier. Loftus said there are 137 investors in the plaintiff class.<\/p>\n

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\n\tCloth\u2019s company, Creative Wealth Media Finance, declared bankruptcy in Canada in 2023. The Ontario Securities Commission that Cloth had raised some $500 million from 500 investors across the U.S. and Canada over the preceding decade. The OSC accused Cloth of raising more money for film and TV projects than was required, and then diverting the money to other uses.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the OSC, Cloth\u2019s company made $50 million in unsecured loans to a developer to build condominiums in Kingston, Ontario, which had not been repaid at the time of the bankruptcy.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter a two-day civil trial in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 2024, Cloth was ordered to pay $19.6 million to an investor who had put money into a TV project. Cloth did not attend the trial, telling a judge beforehand that he was incapable of representing himself and planned to be at the Cannes Film Festival at the time.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn an email to Variety<\/em> at the time, he said it was a \u201cvery trying time for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCloth appealed the jury verdict in that case, but it was upheld by the appellate court last year. Cloth\u2019s civil attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe indictment seeks reimbursement of $12.25 million. Each count of wire fraud also carries a theoretical maximum of 20 years in prison. The Chicago Field Office of the FBI is seeking additional victims.<\/p>\n

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Jason Cloth, a veteran film financier with credits on ‘Joker’ and ‘Babylon,’ has been indicted on seven counts of wire fraud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4085],"class_list":["post-5144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-jason-cloth"],"yoast_head":"\nJason Cloth, \u2018Babylon\u2019 and \u2018Joker\u2019 Financier, Indicted in Alleged $100 Million Ponzi Scheme - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5144\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jason Cloth, \u2018Babylon\u2019 and \u2018Joker\u2019 Financier, Indicted in Alleged $100 Million Ponzi Scheme - 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