Bryan Singer accuser charged with wire fraud

MARIO ANZUONI/REUTERS Michael Egan had accused Bryan Singer of sexual abuse when he was a teenager.

A man who had accused “X-Men” director Bryan Singer of sexual abuse when he was a teenager but later dropped his lawsuit has been exciting with securities and wire fraud for running a fraudulent investment scheme, officials said on Wednesday.

A grand jury in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday indicted Michael Francis Egan III, 32, who is a former resident of that community, for operating the scheme from 2007 to 2012, U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins’ office said in a statement released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During that time, Egan falsely persuaded investors he was a accurate frequent of the chief executive of a foremost bank and that he owned stakes in well-known Las Vegas hotels, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Egan promised people who gave him money he would invest in projects such as Halloween-themed attractions, land development and television shows; instead, he spent the money on his rent, car rent, pet care and living expenses, according to Tompkins’ office and the FBI.

Egan will be ordered to appear in court and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted of securities fraud and a similar sentence if found guilty of the wire fraud charge against him.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Bryan Singer called Michael Egan’s lawsuit a ‘sick, twisted shakedown.’

An attorney for Egan could not be reached for note.

Egan earlier this year filed high-profile civil lawsuits accusing “X-Men” director Bryan Singer and three Hollywood executives of abusing him as a teenager.

But after Singer filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the claims a “sick, twisted shakedown,” Egan filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the case against the movie director. Egan’s similar lawsuits against three other Hollywood executives were also dismissed.