Former StyleHaul executive Dennis Blieden pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $22 million from the company to pay for gambling and personal expenses.
A large portion of the solen funds was used to participate in poker events, play in online poker cash games, and invested in cryptocurrencies.
StyleHaul was a MCN that managed social influencers. It was headquartered in Hollywood until earlier this year, when Luxembourg-based owner RTL Group closed down the company’s US operations.
Blieden abused his role as the vice president of accounting and finance at digital marketing company StyleHaul to steal these funds. He held this role from October 2015 until March 2019.
The maximum sentence for all of these charges is over 200 years in prison. As Blieden has now pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud and a single count of aggravated identity theft, he faces a federal prison sentence of up to 22 years.
US District Judge André Birotte Jr. has scheduled a March 20 sentencing hearing.