Big-name actors, B-list movies and the indie producer who has faced a trail of fraud lawsuits

Last March, when filming on the dystopian thriller “Hard Matter” was underway, reporters descended on the movie’s various sets along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. Powell alleges in the suit that Saxon, his producing partner Jeff Bowler and their company Wonderfilm falsely claimed that Mel Gibson would star in the film and used Gridiron’s investment to secure a $2-million state tax rebate that the producers diverted “for their own purposes.” They added that the pair were “seasoned con-artists in the movie business.” Saxon’s attorney, John Schlaff, has called the claims “false — and demonstrably so,” and cited communications to disprove Powell’s claims. He blames Gridiron and the director for problems with the film’s production and alleged that Powell had “threatened Mr. Saxon with dredging up his past in an attempt to “extort a settlement from him.” Powell’s attorney says the claim was “pure fiction.” Over the last 13 years, Saxon and companies he has controlled have faced various accusations of fraud, racketeering, and misappropriation of funds involving multiple films where he served as producer or executive producer, according to a Times review of court filings and interviews with investors and former associates. Saxon’s attorney, Schlaff, said Barbour’s allegations were “false.” Even as investors fought to recover their money, Saxon continued to successfully engage other backers. Saxon has since “apologized” to Yarbrough, Schlaff said, and the men entered into a settlement agreement which Saxon has “honored.” He called the lawsuits that followed Yarbrough’s complaint a “pile-on” that “succeeded in creating a panic among Mr. Saxon’s business partners and investors.” In the “Hard Matter” lawsuit, Gridiron alleges that Saxon and Bowler “siphoned money” out of the budget by creating fraudulent loan-out companies for production services that paid Saxon $500,000 and Bowler $450,000.