By Laura Italiano

Between his cashmere coats, his perfect French accent and his claims of big-bucks dealings with John Travolta and Jodie Foster, Alexis Quinlin was quite the convincing businessman – taking some 22 investors into handing him nearly $4 million over five years.

But every one of these deals was a swindle, Manhattan prosecutors said yesterday, as Quinlin was thrown in jail on grand larceny charges.

Quinlin, 46, of SoHo, claimed that he exported DVD players and flat-screen TVs to Europe at astounding profit but needed money from investors to finance these transactions, prosecutors said.

To throw some extra razzle-dazzle into his sales pitch, he sometimes pretended to be famous French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino, prosecutors said.

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Manhattan Film Distributor Charged In Fraud
By Anemona Hartocollis (NYT)

A small independent film distributor has been indicted for defrauding at least 22 people  of $3.9 million over seven year, the Manhattan District Attorney said yesterday. The film distributor, Alexis Quinlan, 46, President of Offline Releasing told investors he needed money to export televisions to Europe, prosecutors said, but instead used the money to pay off debts incurred by his film company and to patronize luxury establishments. Mr. Quinlan’s lawyer Matthew Myers did not return a call for comment yesterday.

Source: New York Times – Friday May 12, 2006

Attorney for the defense: Matthew D. Myers