Source: Office of United States Attorneys
LOS ANGELES – A film production accountant from the San Fernando Valley has been charged in a federal grand jury indictment alleging he embezzled more than $1.9 million from the film productions that employed him, using the illicitly obtained funds to stay at Las Vegas hotels and socialize with pornographic actresses, the Justice Department announced today.
Joshua Mandel, 46, of Woodland Hills, is charged with six counts of wire fraud. He is expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned on September 10 in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the indictment returned on Thursday, Mandel owned the Woodland Hills-based company First J Productions Inc., where he served as both its CEO and chief financial officer. He also worked as a film production accountant who specialized in accounting services for independent films. As a production accountant, Mandel oversaw cash flow, payroll, and expenses for the film productions. He also added funds to prepaid debit cards issued by CASHét Card that are commonly used in the film industry and was an authorized user for bank accounts belonging to the production companies.
From 2019 to 2023, Mandel misappropriated funds belonging to the film productions by writing unauthorized checks, making unauthorized wire transfers, and moving funds into a CASHét Card account he controlled called “Fun Fun Fun.”
Mandel also used the embezzled money to maintain his lifestyle, including paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to various young women, including pornographic actresses, and more than $129,000 to a woman he met through a “sugar daddy” website; spending more than $24,000 at Las Vegas hotels, clubs, and shows; and purchasing more than $12,000 in luxury items from Louis Vuitton. To hide his scheme, Mandel used funds from one production company to pay expenses incurred by another.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted of all charges, Mandel would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each count.
The FBI is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Alexander B. Schwab, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, is prosecuting this case.