'Home Improvement' Star Zachery Ty Bryan Accused of Fraud by Movie Investor Before Alleged Crypto Scheme Was Exposed
Zachery Ty Bryan has been accused of pocketing $50k as part of an alleged crypto scheme, but this isn't the first time the Home Improvement star has made headlines for allegedly scamming an investor out of money. RadarOnline.com can exclusively report that Bryan was sued for $250k last year by a movie producer who said the actor "tricked" him out of thousands by "forging" a contract for his 2021 film, Warning, starring Thomas Jane, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Alex Pettyfer.
In legal documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Bryan was sued for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, and more. The suit claimed the investor was "scammed" into giving Zachery and his production company, Lost Lane, $60k for the movie, alleging the 2019 contract presented to him was "fraudulent."
"ZACHERY BRYAN misrepresented to the terms of the Investor Agreement between LOST LANE and WARNING to Plaintiff," the documents read. "More specifically, ZACHERY BRYAN created a fraudulent copy of the Investor Agreement between LOST LANE and allegedly WARNING."
He accused the childhood star of using the alleged fake agreement to "trick" him into contributing funds.
According to the investor, the document was "doctored to mimic the original and legitimate Investor Agreement." He claimed "the legitimate Investor Agreement was electronically signed by WARNING" while "the Fraudulent Investor Agreement was not actually signed by WARNING. WARNING's signature was forged in handwriting."
He said he handed over $60k to Bryan's production company for the film — and, in return, he thought he was getting "$60,000, plus a 20% premium of its contribution."
According to the contract, the investor "was entitled to recover at a minimum, $72.000" plus 1% of the net profits of Warning when it was released.
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"Unbeknownst to Plaintiff, the legitimate Investor Agreement was never signed by Warning," the lawsuit claimed. Despite the movie being released on October 22, 2021, the suit said the investor "has not received anything in return," claiming he was "scammed out of an unknown amount of funds," including the profits from the film.
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The lawsuit alleged the investor suffered "economic damages and non-economic damages" due to Bryan's "doctored" contract. He demanded $72k plus prejudgment interest, any initial royalties, and an added $180k, making the total $252k.
Court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com show that Zachery was hit with a default judgment in the amount of $108k in April, and there are no future hearings in the case.
Fast-forward to one year later, and now four people have stepped forward, alleging that the actor took $50k of their money to invest in a cryptocurrency opportunity that did not exist.
"I got duped," one alleged victim told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's a gut punch, for sure."
The alleged scam involved a startup called Producers Market. Bryan allegedly took their money to buy digital coins for the company, which was toying with the idea of a token sale opportunity; however, Producers Market opted not to do so.
“Mr. Bryan misrepresented our company without our knowledge, participation or permission. When we found out, we immediately issued a cease-and-desist demand to him,” Producers Market spokesperson John Collins told THR. “This activity is unacceptable and not a reflection of our mission to support the well-being of farmers and our food systems.”
For his part, the actor claimed he was confused by the mess and plans to pay the four accusers back by returning his stock since he still has a stake in the company.
"This was not me running some shady scam deal or something — that's just not me," Bryan said in his response.
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