Film Accountant Accused Of Stealing $1.9M For Vegas Trips, Porn Stars, ‘Sugar Daddy’ Dates

LOS ANGELES, CA — A film accountant from the San Fernando Valley is accused of embezzling more than $1.9 million from production companies that hired him, using the funds for Las Vegas trips and hookups with pornographic actresses and a woman he met through a "sugar daddy" website, officials announced Friday.

Joshua Mandel, 46, of Woodland Hills is charged with six counts of wire fraud. Arraignment is expected on Sept. 10 in L.A. federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

If convicted of all charges, Mandel would face up to 20 years behind bars on each count.

Mandel owned the Woodland Hills-based company First J Productions Inc., where he served as both its chief executive and chief financial officer, the indictment says.

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, and added funds to prepaid debit cards issued by CASHét Card, which are commonly used in the film industry, federal prosecutors allege.

Mandel was also trusted as an authorized user for bank accounts belonging to production companies. From 2019 to 2023, prosecutors allege, 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."

The U.S. Attorney's Office contends that Mandel used the embezzled money to maintain his lavish 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 allegedly used funds from one production company to pay expenses incurred by another, in the style of a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said.

City News Service