An independent film producer was sentenced Monday to 18 months behind bars for the interstate transport of nearly $1.5 million that had been embezzled from billionaire Ron Burkle’s investment fund.
Julio Caro, 57, of Calabasas was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. King for moving cash to New Jersey that belonged to Burkle’s Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund.
Caro produced the 2006 straight-to-DVD comedy “Homie Spumoni,” which starred Donald Faison, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Whoopi Goldberg, through an agreement with Los Angeles-based Yucaipa, court papers show.
When Caro pleaded guilty in August, he admitted that he stole about $1.5 million from Yucaipa over five years.
“This defendant stole nearly $1.5 million from a trusted business partner,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “He then furthered his criminal activity by moving the money across the country, making it more difficult for the partner to recoup its losses.”
A former producing partner of Jennifer Lopez, Caro co-produced the 2000 horror film “The Cell,” starring Lopez and Vince Vaughn, and was a former judge of the Miss Universe pageant.
–City News Service