A Beverly Hills film producer is now facing a federal case in Chicago that reads less like a movie-financing dispute and more like an alleged $100 million cash carousel. Prosecutors say Jason Cloth sold investors on film, entertainment and gaming projects, then shifted some money to unrelated uses and earlier investors. He was arrested in Los Angeles Tuesday after the indictment was unsealed.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Cloth, 60, was charged with seven counts of wire fraud by a federal grand jury in Chicago. Prosecutors allege he operated Canada-based Creative Wealth Media Finance Corp. from 2019 through 2026 and obtained more than $100 million from an Illinois investment adviser, the adviser's clients and other investors by misrepresenting how their money was performing and where it was going.
CBS Chicago reports that Cloth made his initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The alleged scheme had a clear Illinois connection: prosecutors say the investment adviser based in the state helped bring money into purported film and entertainment projects, while Cloth allegedly used some funds for other purposes, including a Canadian real estate development.
How Prosecutors Say The Money Moved
Details in the federal indictment describe investments that were presented as funding for a gaming entertainment platform and a motion picture. Prosecutors allege Cloth instead redirected money to unrelated projects and personal purposes, overstated the value of investments and used some investor funds to repay earlier investors — the familiar mechanism behind a Ponzi scheme.
The indictment also alleges that Cloth tried to keep investors from demanding their money by claiming funds were inaccessible because of a production company's bankruptcy. Federal prosecutors say that explanation was false, and that the alleged misrepresentations were part of a broader effort to conceal how the money was being used.
A Regulatory Alarm Had Already Sounded
The federal case follows a separate enforcement proceeding brought by the Ontario Securities Commission in 2025. That filing alleged Cloth and Creative Wealth raised more than $500 million from over 500 investors between 2013 and 2022, diverted at least $70 million for undisclosed purposes and used new investor money to repay existing investors; those remain regulatory allegations, separate from the Chicago indictment.
The pattern may sound familiar to Chicago investors. In June, Hoodline reported on another Chicago Ponzi case involving an investment adviser accused of using new client money to cover withdrawals by earlier clients, a reminder that the old fraud formula keeps resurfacing under increasingly polished branding.
Federal Charges And Victim Outreach
Each wire fraud count carries a statutory maximum of up to 20 years in federal prison, and prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of at least $12.25 million, according to the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office. The office also emphasized that an indictment is only an accusation and that Cloth is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The FBI Chicago Field Office is asking potential victims to submit information through an online form. The request covers people who may have invested through Creative Wealth Media Finance or another entity in purported film projects, gaming platforms or related opportunities.
