The promise of Hollywood stardom leads some to fraud and scams. In this episode, we talk about three scammers from the land of the silver screen: Alison Gu, a convicted fraudster who tried to hire Chinese-speaking actors as witnesses for her case; Zach Horowitz (aka Zach Avery), an actor who conned his friends and major investors out of millions of dollars with fake contracts; and Mary Carole McDonnell, a TV producer who pretended to be an heiress to a huge fortune so she could borrow millions and disappear before the bill came due. 

Resources:

• Alison Gu: Defendant hires 7 actors for her fraud trial
• Zach Avery: Actor Pleads Guilty to $650 Million Ponzi Scheme, Faking Netflix and HBO Deals
• Mary Carole McDonnell: The 73-year-old ‘fake heiress defrauding banks out of millions’

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