Three Fraudsters Who Met in Prison Sentenced Again for $3.6 Million 'Sundown Entertainment' Film-Rights Ponzi

Case from 2013 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: April 30, 2013). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Three men with prior fraud records met while serving unrelated sentences at the federal prison in Oxford, Wis. After their release, they joined a Ponzi-type scheme that cost about 100 victims more than $3.6 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced in April 2013 when the last of them was sentenced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to prosecutors [1]:

1. The business: Christopher Andersen and Daniel Parrilli said they ran Sundown Entertainment Inc., which bought and sold rights to films and comic books. Together they raised more than $7 million from about 150 investors.
2. The promises: Investors were told they would earn anywhere from 10% to as much as 150%, over periods ranging from months down to a few days.
3. The damage: Prosecutors said many victims drained 401(k)s or college savings or borrowed against their homes to invest.
4. Lulling: John Lauer joined after most of the money had been raised and gave nervous investors false assurances that their money was safe. At the time he was on supervised release from an earlier case.

The people sentenced

All three pleaded guilty to fraud charges filed in 2010 and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall [1].

• Christopher Andersen, 57, formerly of Downers Grove (lead defendant) — sentenced in fall 2012 to 95 months and more than $3.7 million in restitution. He had been convicted in 2001 of selling fraudulent promissory notes. Prosecutors said he kept committing fraud while both cases were pending and even after pleading guilty in the Sundown case.
• Daniel Parrilli, 62, formerly of Carol Stream — sentenced in the week before April 30, 2013, to 70 months and more than $3.65 million in restitution, and ordered to report Aug. 1, 2013. He had previously served time for bank fraud and for using aliases to get credit cards.
• John Lauer, 48, formerly of Chicago — sentencing finalized at the same time: 31 months and $457,367 in restitution, with surrender set for June 12, 2013. He also admitted a separate scheme involving a supposed surety bond purchase to release bank funds from the Cayman Islands. Years earlier, as director of risk management and benefits at the Chicago Housing Authority, he ran a "prime bank" investment fraud that caused losses of more than $20 million, including about $15 million in CHA pension funds.

The FBI investigated with help from the SEC.

Red flags

• Returns of up to 150% in days or months from an entertainment rights business.
• Promoters with prior fraud convictions. Search court records and the SEC's action lookup before investing.
• "Prime bank" or offshore bank-release deals. Regulators have long warned these instruments don't exist as pitched.

Protect yourself

1. Look up promoters on PACER or CourtListener and in the SEC's action lookup at sec.gov/litigations/sec-action-look-up.
2. Never cash out retirement or college funds for an unregistered private deal.
3. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr and the FBI at tips.fbi.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Christopher Andersen	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kendall)	Pleaded guilty; sentenced fall 2012 to 95 months; restitution more than $3.7M	[1]
Daniel Parrilli	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kendall)	Pleaded guilty; sentenced April 2013 to 70 months; restitution more than $3.65M	[1]
John Lauer	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kendall)	Pleaded guilty; sentenced to 31 months (finalized April 2013); $457,367 restitution	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Three Fraud Defendants Who Met In Prison Sent Back To Serve New Sentences In $3.6 Million Ponzi Scheme," April 30, 2013. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/three-fraud-defendants-who-met-prison-sent-back-serve-new-sentences-36-million-ponzi

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