Aviron Pictures founderWilliam Sadleir was charged Friday with allegedly misappropriating funds meant for businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Sadleir was ousted from theindie distributor in January. The 66-year-old producer was also charged separately by theU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday for allegedly defrauding a publicly-traded fund of at least $13.8 million.
According to the Department of Justice,Sadleir secured more than $1.7 million from the forgivable Paycheck Protection Program, which he said would be used for payroll via three film production and distribution companies.