Film financier gets 13 years in prison for $60M fraud scheme

MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man claiming to be a film financier was sentenced to 13 years in prison for running a scheme to steal over $60 million from investors and producers seeking financing for movies and Broadway shows. Court records show 39-year-old Benjamin Forrest McConley was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court. Besides serving prison time, he must also pay restitution. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors say McConley and a co-defendant offered to help investors and producers fund motion pictures, theater performances and other projects but instead stole the victims’ money.