MoviePass Parent Company CEO Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud
2025-01-08
Theodore Farnsworth, former CEO of Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc. (HMNY), the parent company of MoviePass, pleaded guilty to securities fraud. He admitted to a scheme to defraud investors in both HMNY and Vinco Ventures Inc. by misrepresenting MoviePass's "unlimited" subscription model as profitable and falsely claiming the use of AI technology to boost HMNY's stock price. This case, one of the Justice Department's first "AI washing" cases, highlights the risks of using AI claims to perpetrate fraud.