A former executive at Epix has been charged with stealing more than $8 million from the company over a five year period, TheWrap has learned.
Emil Rensing was charged Tuesday in New York’s Southern District Court with wire fraud and identity theft related to a scheme he allegedly perpetrated during the time he was employed at the premium cable network.
According to the court documents obtained by TheWrap, between 2010 and 2015, Rensing established false vendors that he contracted to perform digital media services for Epix. However, these services were in large part never carried out.
The FBI noticed that business associates of Rensing’s were listed as employees of these vendors, but when contacted, the people in question claimed they had no idea why their names were associated with the companies. Rensing also allegedly used stolen identities to conceal his involvement.
An EPIX spokesperson said, “Emil Rensing was terminated by EPIX in August 2015. EPIX is cooperating fully with the U.S. Attorney’s office in their investigation.”
Rensing is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison to run consecutively with any other term of imprisonment imposed.
Rensing was the chief digital officer for Epix from 2009-2015, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also held executive level positions at AOL and MTV. He also founded the company Next New Networks, which was sold to Google in 2011.
Epix, which officially launched in 2009, is premium entertainment provider and a joint venture among Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Lions Gate Entertainment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report
