David Ozer, the president of Strong Studios, has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding an investor in the TV show “Safehaven” out of $214,486.
Ozer has admitted to defrauding Ravenwood Productions by creating false invoices and a forged letter purportedly from his accountant in an effort to make expenditures appear legitimate, according to the plea agreement.
“In reality, Ozer’s accountant did not write the letter, the contents of the letter were false, and Ozer used his accountant’s name without his accountant’s authorization,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles stated in a release.
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Under the plea agreement, Ozer agreed not to appeal if his prison sentence is less than 27 months.
Ozer previously worked at Sony, Starz and as president of IDW Entertainment. Ravenwood sued him in April for siphoning funds from the show to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage.
The lawsuit also named several other defendants, including the parent company Strong Global Entertainment and various officers of the company.
Kevin V. Duncan, the principal of Ravenwood, settled the lawsuit against all parties except Ozer on July 22. The settlement allowed Ravenwood to take full control of “Safehaven” so that post-production could be completed and the show could be sold to a distributor.
“Safehaven” is a 10-episode supernatural TV series, based on a 2017 graphic novel by James Seale. The show was filmed in Canada in 2022, but ran into severe financial difficulties.
Duncan ultimately agreed to take over a production loan, in the amount of $6.4 million, to keep the show from being foreclosed by a lender.
“Every production has its challenges,” Seale said in a release on July 22. “But thanks to the support and commitment of my producing partner Kevin V. Duncan, this matter is now behind us and audiences will finally get to delve into the world of Safehaven, a riveting story with a cast of fantastic new faces and immense franchise potential.”
The FBI investigated the criminal case. Ozer, who lives in New York, is due to make an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.
