A cold-remedy inventor, Lucille Ball’s old studio and an alleged investment scheme. What could go wrong?

The Redondo Seaside man claimed to be rich — within the Nineteen Nineties, he had invented Zicam, a preferred chilly treatment — and, he informed traders, he had a tempting supply.

It started with a reputation: Desilu Studios Inc.

Charles Hensley, 68, began utilizing the enterprise identify in 2016. It bore a putting resemblance to Desilu Productions Inc., the previous manufacturing firm operated by Lucille Ball and husband Desi Arnaz.

He approached traders, hoping to faucet into the nostalgia of previous Hollywood and claiming the corporate was set to supply new content material. He informed them that he was backing the enterprise along with his private wealth and that the enterprise was valued at $11 billion.

He additionally included a second enterprise within the pitches, Migranade Inc., which he claimed was valued at greater than $50 million.

However the companies had been “little greater than shell firms,” a part of a rip-off that bilked traders out of no less than $331,000, federal authorities alleged Wednesday.

The cash went to private bills, together with journeys to Las Vegas, prosecutors alleged.

In a civil case additionally filed in U.S. District Court docket on Wednesday, the U.S. Securities and Change Fee alleged that Hensley and Desilu Studios raised about $596,360 from no less than 21 traders.

The alleged rip-off ran from August 2017 to Could 2018, based on a 12-count federal grand jury indictment.

Hensley pitched investments and obtained different folks to pitch investments in firms together with Desilu Studios and Migranade, and supplied to make use of inventory in his firms to accumulate shares in “no less than some” of the businesses he focused, based on the prison indictment.

“Hensley falsely claimed to traders that he had obtained the rights to the Desilu model,” based on the SEC’s court docket submitting. “Hensley lured traders by claiming that he was reviving the Desilu model by Desilu Studios, which presupposed to be a contemporary leisure firm engaged in movie and tv manufacturing, merchandising, content material streaming, theme parks, and cinemas.”

He additionally falsely informed the traders that the enterprise was “blessed” by Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, based on the SEC.

Hensley owned no mental property, and his claims of revitalizing the studio — and of possessing substantial wealth — had been additionally unfaithful, federal prosecutors mentioned.

“He was not extraordinarily rich, had few property, and was repeatedly bouncing checks and overdrawing financial institution accounts to get money and pay bills,” the prison indictment acknowledged.

In his scheme, Hensley allegedly went so far as claiming that Desilu Studios was about to go public and that the corporate’s inventory was price greater than its face worth, prosecutors mentioned. He allegedly informed traders the inventory would enhance in worth following an preliminary public providing.

“Actually, based on the indictment, none of this was correct and Hensley stole somebody’s id to checklist as Desilu Studio’s chief monetary officer in providing supplies,” prosecutors mentioned.

The scheme went past taking cash from traders, based on the U.S. lawyer’s workplace. In some circumstances, Hensley allegedly satisfied house owners and executives to promote their firms in trade for nugatory Desilu inventory.

“The indictment additional alleges that Hensley touted these purchases to the person traders, additional deceptive them about his purported acquisitions of helpful property,” prosecutors mentioned.

Hensley was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one depend of aggravated id theft, based on the U.S. lawyer’s workplace for the Central District of California.

Hensley couldn’t be reached for remark. A spokesperson for the U.S. lawyer’s workplace mentioned Hensley was within the technique of hiring a protection lawyer, however none was listed in court docket filings.

If convicted on the latest prison expenses, Hensley would face a statutory most sentence of 20 years in federal jail for every wire fraud depend plus a compulsory two-year jail sentence for the depend of aggravated id theft, prosecutors mentioned.

Court docket filings revealed that Hensley has a historical past of authorized troubles.

He was sentenced to a few years of probation in 2012 after pleading responsible to a federal prison cost for illegally advertising and marketing and promoting VIRA 38, an unapproved natural treatment that he claimed may forestall and deal with chook flu.

And based on the SEC’s latest civil case, the Arizona Company Fee filed a cease-and-desist order in opposition to him and Migranade in 2021.

Hensley claimed the corporate was producing an over-the-counter migraine treatment, the civil case acknowledged. The Arizona fee ordered him to pay an administrative penalty and restitution to traders.

In October 2016, Hensley filed an utility with the U.S. Patent Workplace asking to trademark “Desilu,” based on the SEC’s case.

However he left a crucial reality out of the appliance: CBS Studios had been “repeatedly utilizing” the Desilu trademark “for many years in its tv programming,” the civil case acknowledged. The patent workplace, nonetheless, permitted Hensley’s request in January 2018.

Three months later, Desilu Studios sued CBS “to determine its possession and use of the ‘Desilu’ mark,” but it surely dropped the case on Oct. 21 that yr, the SEC’s case acknowledged.

9 days later, CBS filed a countersuit in opposition to Desilu Studios, Hensley and Desilu Corp. alleging a number of claims, together with trademark infringement.

CBS’ case concluded in Could 2019 when the court docket barred “Desilu Studios from utilizing the ‘Desilu’ mark and ordered that Desilu Studios be dissolved or take away ‘Desilu’ from its identify,” based on the SEC.