Atlanta movie producer pleads guilty to $2.5 million fraud scams to fund his lavish lifestyle

ATLANTA — A movie producer pleaded guilty to several counts of fraud and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ryan Felton entered the plea on the fourth day of his jury trial in Atlanta on Thursday.

Felton was accused of two cryptocurrency investment schemes that cost investors millions of dollars, according to prosecutors.

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“The defendant used 21st century technology to perpetrate an age-old fraud: lying to investors to steal their money and fund his own lavish lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan in a news release. “Felton’s conviction should serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to capitalize on emerging technology to victimize others.”

Investigators say Felton promoted an initial coin offering for an entertainment streaming platform promising to surpass Netflix.

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Prosecutors say Felton falsely promoted that Atlanta rapper T.I. was co-owner of the FLiK platform, the U.S. military had agreed to distribute the platform to service members, and FLiK was finalizing licensing deals with major film and television studios.

Felton used around $2.4 million in money from investors to fund an extravagant lifestyle. He bought a $1.5 million home, a Ferrari, a Chevy Tahoe, and approximately $30,000 in diamond jewelry, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

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Felton promoted a second ICO for a new company in 2018. Investigators say he raised more than $200,000 for CoinSpark and again diverted money to his personal bank account.

Felton pleaded guilty to twelve counts of wire fraud, ten counts of money laundering, and two counts of securities fraud. His sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

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Atlanta-based cryptocurrency company ordered to payback money to customers A federal jury in Atlanta ruled in favor of one of those customers in April in one of the first lawsuits of its kind in the country.

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