Federal prosecutors say Jason Cloth, the 60-year-old executive producer behind blockbuster hits including "Joker," ran a years-long scheme that bilked investors and advisory firms out of more than $100 million, and the FBI wants to hear from anyone else he may have targeted.
A federal grand jury in Chicago indicted Cloth on seven counts of wire fraud, and authorities arrested him in Los Angeles after the indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of at least $12.25 million.
Cloth ran Creative Wealth Media, a financing outfit that helped bankroll major Hollywood productions. Prosecutors allege he used that perch to solicit high-dollar investments under the guise of funding movie, television, and gaming projects, then fabricated financial statements about how the money was performing and what the investments were actually worth.
The alleged mechanics are familiar to anyone who followed the Bernie Madoff saga. Prosecutors say Cloth funneled fresh investor money to pay off earlier investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi-style operation. Meanwhile, millions of dollars were allegedly siphoned into unauthorized personal ventures, including a real estate development project in Canada that had nothing to do with Hollywood.
The FBI's Chicago Division believes Cloth primarily began targeting investors in 2019. The bureau is now actively seeking to identify additional victims, a signal that investigators believe the full scope of the alleged fraud may extend beyond what the current indictment captures.
Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp., along with partner studio Bron Studios, eventually went bankrupt, leaving a trail of financial wreckage behind the glossy credits on major motion pictures.
The federal case is not the first time fraud allegations have surfaced around this orbit. In 2024, a seven-member civil jury in West Palm Beach, Florida, found that film producer Aaron Cloth defrauded investor Robert Harris out of $6.6 million. The jury awarded Harris $19.6 million in total, $6.6 million in original damages plus $13 million in punitive damages. The relationship between Aaron Cloth and Jason Cloth is not specified in the New York Post's reporting.
The civil case centered on "The Pathway," a TNT docuseries about the NBA draft. Harris loaned $6.57 million after being promised 15 percent interest and told he was the sole investor. He was also allegedly told that TNT had greenlit the series for five seasons. None of it panned out. The show was canceled after a single season in 2022, and Harris never received any money back.
Aaron Cloth did not appear at his own fraud trial. He submitted a written statement to the court saying he could not represent himself without a lawyer. He had previously cited severe financial strain following the bankruptcies of Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp. and Bron Studios. He also tried to postpone the proceedings by claiming a scheduling conflict, he said he was attending the Cannes Film Festival.
The trial lasted two days. Plaintiff's attorney David Jonelis presented evidence showing Aaron Cloth had misled Harris into making the loan. The jury sided with Harris on every count.
The collapse of Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp. and Bron Studios predated the civil verdict and now sits as backdrop to the federal criminal case. Investors who thought they were funding the next "Joker" instead watched the companies that handled their money crater. Whether those bankruptcy proceedings surfaced any of the conduct now described in the federal indictment remains unclear.
Jason Cloth's current custody status, whether he remains detained or has been released on bond, is not yet public. Nor has any plea been reported. The federal prosecutors handling the Chicago case have not been identified by name.
What is clear is the scale. More than $100 million allegedly taken from investors and advisory firms. At least $12.25 million the government wants clawed back. Seven federal counts, each carrying two decades behind bars. And an FBI field office publicly asking victims to come forward, a step the bureau takes when it believes there are more names on the list.
Hollywood has always rewarded the ability to sell a vision. The federal government is now alleging that Jason Cloth sold visions that never existed, and pocketed the difference. If the charges hold, the producer who helped bring the Joker to the screen may have been running his own con all along.
