Complaint Review: Seven Arts Pictures Plc

Distributors warned of lein on Seven Arts Pictures purchases as Directors named and shamed at Cannes Film festival. Peter Hoffman, Kate Hoffman, Elaine New and Julia Verdin all Directors of Seven Arts Pictures caught in fraudulent film investment scam.

Los Angeles, California May 23, 2013

Seven Arts Pictures based in London and Los Angeles have been operating a fraudulent investment scam masterminded by Peter Hoffman and his daughter Kate Hoffman both Directors of Seven Arts Pictures.

Having set up a company of the same name in the UK, Hoffman and his daughter took advantage of the naivety of first time film investors by duping them to invest in a company they set up to then put just weeks later into liquidation.

The US company Seven Arts Pictures reputation of a long standing film maker was duplicated in the UK with the same name. Investors then gave Peter Hoffmans monies they thought were being invested into movies but instead went directly into the pockets of Peter Hoffman and his Daughter Kate Hoffman.

Investors were then lulled into a sense of false security with emails being sent by Hoffman using the email address of his US company with the same name informing them on the progress of their investment whilst the company they actually invested in was already in liquidation in the UK.

The matter is currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office in the UK, The Insolvency Service as well as the SEC in the USA

Distributors at Cannes Film festival were being warned to check their position and whether they will be in breach of a court order by paying the company any sums for distribution of Seven Arts Pictures Movies without first notifying the court.

Sources in the film industry say that Distributors would be a party to the Fraud unless they get leave from the court. In most cases Film distribution companies are being advised to take their own legal advice.

Seven Arts has no contingency for these liabilities and the fact that it has not been shown in their financial statements as a contingent liability may constitute a further fraud against investors in the US warns a close source.

Companies and individuals who have fallen for this Scam may contact the petitioner IFSG and join the court lein on any revenues or future earnings that Seven Arts. A spokes person for IFSG said, "We must obviously draw this to distributors attention as we will be applying to the courts for sums to be frozen pending the outcome of a trial in court. We believe this action is necessary as we believe that Seven Arts is Insolvent and unlikely to be able to pay its debt and our legal costs given its present financial position. Any persons duped by this company may join our petition and should also report the theft to the UK Insolvency Service".

In one example uncovered Peter Hoffman solicited an investment of $400,000.00 on September 18th 2009. He warranted in a contract that the film would be delivered no later than December 31st 2010. Yet just three months later on December 23rd 2009 his company was put into liquidation. Yet he never informed the investors of this liquidation and along with his co Directors, Kate Hoffman, Elaine New and Julia Verdin he continued to pretend the film was being made.

In one email uncovered, written on Tuesday, May 25, 2010, months after the company was already in liquidation he represented himself along with his daughter to the investors that the financing was all coming together and the film was on track to be made.

These representations were then repeated over and over again in the months to come informing investors that the film was "delayed" but on track to be a block buster. This was not true as he had already sold the rights of the film to another company and the original company used to collect investors monies was already defunct.

Mean while Hoffman had further problems. On July 19, 2011 Officers of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) raided the offices of Seven Arts Pictures Plc. (the “Company”) in London already in liquidation. Documents were taken appertaining to arrangements involving the subscription for shares in a number of companies which had lost value, resulting in subscribers making claims to tax relief in a Fraud masterminded by Hoffmans daughter, Kate Hofffman. The company had been used to collect millions of dollars in tax relief for movies that Hoffman never made.

Both Peter Hoffman and his daughter Kate Hoffman declined to comment.