Former Hollywood Digital Marketing Executive and Professional Poker Player Charged with Embezzling

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Former Hollywood Digital Marketing Executive and Professional Poker Player Charged with Embezzling $22 Million from His Employer


LOS ANGELES – A former executive at StyleHaul Inc., a digital marketing company that represents “influencers” on YouTube and Instagram, has been arrested pursuant to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with embezzling $22 million from his employer and using the stolen money for buy-ins at professional poker tournaments, crypto-currency investing, and other personal expenses.

Dennis Blieden, 29, formerly of Santa Monica and now residing in Nevada, was taken into federal custody yesterday in Las Vegas. The indictment, which a federal grand jury returned on Tuesday and was unsealed today, charges him with 11 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two forfeiture counts.

Blieden made his initial court appearance today in United States District Court in Las Vegas, and he will be arraigned on the indictment in Los Angeles at a later date.

According to the indictment, between October 2015 and March 2019, Blieden was the controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, a digital company once based in Hollywood, but which relocated to London in April. In this role, Blieden had control over the company’s bank accounts, and allegedly abused this authority to wire the company’s money to his personal bank accounts.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-hollywood-digital-marketing-executive-and-professional-poker-player-charged