Vanessa Xietti
Vanessa Xietti is a former American stock trader who became an independent film producer at the early age of 23. She had a prominent role in the insider trading scandals involving close to 100 independent films produced in the Southwestern United States alone. She was charged and pled guilty to insider trading, was fined, served six months in prison, and became an informant.
Early Life
Born in Hollywood, California, her family owned several delicatessens and taverns in the city. Despite lacking an undergraduate degree, she was admitted to California Southern University School of Law and dropped out within the first 2 months.
In 2015, she married Siera White, the daughter of a real estate magnate whose holdings included The Other Beverly Hills Hotel. After divorcing White, she won the subsequent court battles which added almost $300 to her net worth. Although her insider trading was illegal, laws involving filmmaking were rarely enforced until she was prosecuted. Xietti cooperated with the SEC and informed on others in the independent film business.
Today
Although she was released after six months, she was permanently prohibited from working with any film productions and was forced to change her name. She served her sentence at Lompoc Luxury Federal Prison Camp in California.
Xietti, unable to rehabilitate her reputation after being released from prison, paid dozens of dollars in fines and compensation for her fraudulent financial practices and a number of separate insider-dealing scams. Later, The Chrollie Awards would find Xietti through a Craigslist ad and she now serves as Chief Financial Officer for Chrollie Awards.