Former MoviePass CEO admits the $9.95 ‘unlimited’ ticket scheme was fraud
Mitch Lowe in HBO’s MoviePass, MovieCrash documentary. | Image: HBO
MoviePass ex-CEO Mitch Lowe pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Monday over his involvement in a scheme to mislead investors, as reported earlier by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. With the plea, Lowe admits to making false representations about the sustainability of a $9.95 monthly plan that promised “unlimited” access to movies in theaters.
Lowe, who took over as CEO of MoviePass in 2016, started allowing users to see a movie a day through an unlimited subscription in 2017. But the money-burning tactic eventually led to MoviePass’s demise, with the service shutting down in 2019 and later filing for bankruptcy.
Following a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Lowe and…