NY Daily News reports that Roland Scahill, 42, scammed several close friends out of over $200,000 to invest in a fabricated Broadway production.
Scahill told friends that Oscar winning actress Lupita Nyong’o would star in a show based on the life of opera singer Kathleen Battle, and that Netflix would stream the production- both of which were lies.
Jennifer Rinzler-Claps, a former friend of Scahill’s before he stole $13,500 from her, is one of three women who gave impact statements at his trial.
“You knew how to hook me and you did,” said Rinzler-Claps.
“He does not care about the people he has hurt and cheated,” said Barbara Levine, who invested $15,000. Levine’s daughter was friends with Scahill for two decades, and she describes him as being like family.
When offered to speak in trial, Scahill offered an apology and told the women that he had intentions to produce a real show, and only began to lie when he “ran into personal and professional difficulties.”
Scahill was sentenced to six month in jail in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to grand larceny and scheme to defraud. He has paid $90,000 in restitution. When Scahill gets out of jail, he will be on probation for five years and is ordered to continue psychiatric treatment.
