EAST GREENWICH – A local film producer pleaded guilty in a California federal courtroom on Oct. 29 to charges he defrauded investors out of more than $4.2 million.
John A. Santilli Jr., 48, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, according to a Justice Department news release. He was initially charged in a 2021 federal indictment with 10 counts and faced 187 years in prison.
Santilli’s credits include a co-producer role in the 2019 feature film “Vault,” based on the $32 million Bonded Vault heist that took place inside the Hudson Fur Storage company in Providence in 1975 that authorities said was a secret bank used by the New England mafia to store cash and valuables.
Santilli was the manager and part owner of Aloris Entertainment LLC, a company that acquired an interest in Mike’s Mobile Detailing LLC, which operates the “Magic Mike Live” stage show based in Las Vegas and was inspired by the “Magic Mike” movie franchise, which follows the exploits of a male stripper in Florida.
As part of his plea deal, Santilli admitted he told investors they would receive shares entitling them to a percentage of the profits from “Magic Mike Live,” using doctored legal documents claiming Aloris Magic Mike LP was a shareholder in Mike’s Mobile Dealing. Santilli later “misappropriated a significant portion of his victims’ investments, including by withdrawing more than $1 million at casinos across the United States, where he used investors’ money for gambling,“ according to the Justice Department.
Santilli continued to bilk investors by selling nonexistent shares in his company “which corresponded to nearly double the number of Class A Units … that his company actually owned,” the indictment alleged.
Santilli was also executive producer on the 2020 film “Bill & Ted Face the Music” and the 2013 film “The English Teacher,” according to his website. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20 and faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
According to his plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Santilli was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
(Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com)
