Former Eagle Rock Resident Acquitted in $17-Million Indie Film Scam Sues Prosecutors

A one-time Eagle Rock resident who was prosecuted along with 11 others on charges of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering related to an independent film production scam has sued his prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles following his acquittal in October in 2011.

Daryl Van Snowden, who worked as a “telemarketing closer” for Cinamour Entertainment, a Sherman Oaks-based film production and distribution company, filed a lawsuit April 20 against prosecutors Stephen A Cazares and Ellyn Marcus Lindsay.

“The only reason I was indicted was that two federal prosecutors fabricated evidence against me and enlisted an FBI agent to commit perjury,” Snowden wrote Patch in a recent e-mail. “I exposed this to my jury and was acquitted of all charges. I have filed a multi-million-dollar civil rights lawsuit against them, asking the court to arrest them and clear my name.”

Thom Mrozek, a public affairs officer in the United States Attorney's Office, confirmed that Snowden had filed a lawsuit related to his prosecution. “The allegations made in the lawsuit are without merit,” he told Patch, adding that of the dozen defendants in the case, “eight pleaded guilty and three were convicted at trial, so Van Snowden was the only defendant not convicted in this prosecution.”

Snowden, who was a resident of Chatsworth, CA, at the time of his indictment, told Patch he lived in Eagle Rock a little more than 10 years ago. Along with another Eagle Rock resident named David Nelson, he allegedly cold-called individuals over the phone and, posing as an executive producer, promised them returns totaling 300 percent to 1,000 percent or more on their investments, according to the indictment.

Related: Eagle Rock resident, 11 Others, at Center of $17-Million Indie Film Scam.