A San Fernando Valley film production accountant has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of embezzling over $1.9 million from independent film productions, using the stolen funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle that included stays at Las Vegas hotels and payments to adult film actresses, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Joshua Mandel, 46, of Woodland Hills, was charged by a federal grand jury with six counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to appear and be arraigned on Sept. 10 in the United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment returned Thursday, Mandel was the CEO and chief financial officer of First J Productions Inc., a Woodland Hills-based company providing accounting services to independent films.
In his role as a production accountant, Mandel managed cash flow, payroll, and expenses for film projects. He had the authority to add funds to prepaid debit cards issued by CASHét Card, commonly used in the film industry, and was an authorized user on production company bank accounts.
From 2019 to 2023, prosecutors allege Mandel misappropriated money by writing unauthorized checks, initiating unauthorized wire transfers, and funneling funds into a CASHét Card account under his control called “Fun Fun Fun.”
The indictment further details that Mandel allegedly used the illicit funds to sustain a lavish lifestyle, including spending over $129,000 on a woman he met through a “sugar daddy” website, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to various young women, including pornographic actresses, spending more than $24,000 on hotels, clubs, and shows in Las Vegas, and purchasing luxury goods exceeding $12,000 from Louis Vuitton.
To conceal his activities, Mandel is accused of using funds from one production company to cover the expenses of another.
If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count.
The FBI is leading the investigation, and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Schwab, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division.
A San Fernando Valley film production accountant has been indicted on federal charges accusing him of embezzling over $1.9 million from independent film productions, using the stolen funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle that included stays at Las Vegas hotels and payments to adult film actresses, the Justice Department announced Friday. Joshua Mandel, 46, of […]
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