What to Know
- Roland Scahill pleaded not guilty to various felonies, and his attorney says his client "stands on that not guilty plea"
- The fake play was supposedly based on the life of opera singer Kathleen Battle and was to star Lupita Nyong'o, prosecutors say
- Reps for Battle and Nyong'o say Scahill never approached them and that they never had any deal with him
A Broadway producer who admitted scamming friends and others into investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into a nonexistent play about opera star Kathleen Battle has been sentenced to six months in jail.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Roland Scahill scammed at least nine people out of more than $200,000 to fund the nonexistent show. He was sentenced Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court to jail time as well as five years of probation when he gets out. He also was ordered to continue psychiatric treatment.
Scahill has paid back about $90,000 in restitution as part of a plea deal.
He had claimed that Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o was going to star in the play and that it would be screened by Netflix. Prosecutors say both of those claims were false.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
