Hollywood Producer Nabbed for Scam Homeland Security TV Series
Jim Kouri, CPP
October 03, 2005
The producer of the Stephan King motion picture "Sleepwalker," will probably spend some time sitting wide awake in a prison cell for his elaborate scheme to defraud movie investors.
Joseph Medawar a movie producer and Hollywood insider was arrested on September 23 by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service on charges arising from an investment scam in which he claimed to investors that his company, Steeple Entertainment, was producing a television series based on the exploits of the Department of Homeland Security.
According to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in the Central District of California, Medawar told investors that his show, titled "DHS," had the endorsements of President George W. Bush and officials from the real Department of Homeland Security, and that he had contracts to distribute the show in 137 overseas markets. Medawar also told investors that Steeple Entertainment would go public in the near future at a per share price significantly higher than that being paid by investors. A significant number of investors were members of local Christian churches, including Desert Bloom Ministries in Whittier, California, according FBI reports.
The complaint alleges that only a tiny fraction of investor funds were spent by Medawar on anything related to a TV production. In addition, Medawar did not have the endorsement of President Bush or the real Department of Homeland Security. On the contrary, Medawar had been told by officials at the actual Department of Homeland Security that he did not have permission to use their name or official seal; had no contracts with overseas markets; and was never in a position to go public.
The vast majority of investor funds were diverted to support the lavish lifestyle of Medawar and his longtime associate, Alison Heruth-Waterbury, according to the criminal complaint. Expenditures of investor funds for Medawar, Heruth-Waterbury, and others included residential rent of $40,000 per month for a $6.6 million mansion in Beverly Hills for Heruth-Waterbury; luxury automobiles including a Hummer, a Thunderbird, a Jaguar XJR, and a Mercedes CLK 320; clothing from boutiques such as Prada, Nicole Miller, and Umberto Mens Beverly Hills; meals at exclusive restaurants including the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, Mastros Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, and Eurochow in Westwood; memberships at the Sports Club LA; and extensive cash withdrawals.
Beginning as early as May 2003 through the present, Medawar raised more than $5.5 million from more than 70 investors. Misrepresentations to investors were made directly by Medawar and others on his behalf, as well as through various web sites including www.dhstheseries.tv (still on the internet) and www.steepledistributions.com.
The criminal complaint charges Medawar with mail fraud, as well as with obstruction of justice for creating false documents and providing them to federal investigators. Medawar was taken into custody in Century City without incident.
Medawar's production company produced such films as "Hard Bodies 2," "The Closer," "Stephan King's Sleepwalker," and other films.
Joseph Medawar a movie producer and Hollywood insider was arrested on September 23 by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service on charges arising from an investment scam in which he claimed to investors that his company, Steeple Entertainment, was producing a television series based on the exploits of the Department of Homeland Security.
According to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in the Central District of California, Medawar told investors that his show, titled "DHS," had the endorsements of President George W. Bush and officials from the real Department of Homeland Security, and that he had contracts to distribute the show in 137 overseas markets. Medawar also told investors that Steeple Entertainment would go public in the near future at a per share price significantly higher than that being paid by investors. A significant number of investors were members of local Christian churches, including Desert Bloom Ministries in Whittier, California, according FBI reports.
The complaint alleges that only a tiny fraction of investor funds were spent by Medawar on anything related to a TV production. In addition, Medawar did not have the endorsement of President Bush or the real Department of Homeland Security. On the contrary, Medawar had been told by officials at the actual Department of Homeland Security that he did not have permission to use their name or official seal; had no contracts with overseas markets; and was never in a position to go public.
The vast majority of investor funds were diverted to support the lavish lifestyle of Medawar and his longtime associate, Alison Heruth-Waterbury, according to the criminal complaint. Expenditures of investor funds for Medawar, Heruth-Waterbury, and others included residential rent of $40,000 per month for a $6.6 million mansion in Beverly Hills for Heruth-Waterbury; luxury automobiles including a Hummer, a Thunderbird, a Jaguar XJR, and a Mercedes CLK 320; clothing from boutiques such as Prada, Nicole Miller, and Umberto Mens Beverly Hills; meals at exclusive restaurants including the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, Mastros Steakhouse in Beverly Hills, and Eurochow in Westwood; memberships at the Sports Club LA; and extensive cash withdrawals.
Beginning as early as May 2003 through the present, Medawar raised more than $5.5 million from more than 70 investors. Misrepresentations to investors were made directly by Medawar and others on his behalf, as well as through various web sites including www.dhstheseries.tv (still on the internet) and www.steepledistributions.com.
The criminal complaint charges Medawar with mail fraud, as well as with obstruction of justice for creating false documents and providing them to federal investigators. Medawar was taken into custody in Century City without incident.
Medawar's production company produced such films as "Hard Bodies 2," "The Closer," "Stephan King's Sleepwalker," and other films.
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