Director Kevin Spacey is slated to star in "Holiguards," a film scheduled for release in December 2025, but its co-writer and actor, Vladimir "Lado" Okhotnikov, faces federal charges for allegedly orchestrating the Forsage Ponzi scheme, which defrauded victims of over $340 million. Okhotnikov is also credited on IMDb as one of the film's two writers and holds an undisclosed acting role. The cast also includes Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Tyrese Gibson, Brianna Hildebrand, and Disha Patani.
United States authorities issued a criminal indictment against Okhotnikov in 2023, charging him with wire fraud. The Department of Justice estimated victim losses from Forsage at over $340 million. Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil fraud proceedings, claiming approximately $300 million in losses. Okhotnikov, originally from Kazakhstan, is currently believed to be hiding in Georgia and Dubai, actively avoiding apprehension.
Forsage operated as a crypto-based multi-level marketing (MLM) Ponzi scheme, undergoing at least five reboots under its original name. The final iteration launched and collapsed in 2021. Following this, Okhotnikov launched Meta Force in July 2022. The SEC filed its civil suit against Okhotnikov and several accomplices in August 2022. Meta Force subsequently collapsed in September 2022 after disabling withdrawals for investors. Okhotnikov's criminal indictment was made public in February 2023.
Despite the legal actions, Okhotnikov continued to solicit investors. In October 2024, he rebooted Meta Force as Holiverse, a scheme that quickly failed. By May 2025, Holiverse was replaced by Meta Whale, which also saw little traction and appears to have been largely abandoned. These ventures consistently relied on a "metaverse" marketing narrative, a theme now extending into the "Holiguards" film.
Prior to these professional film efforts, Okhotnikov routinely uploaded self-produced, amateur videos to the Forsage, Meta Force, and Meta Whale YouTube channels. These productions often featured Okhotnikov as a superhero with special powers, tasked with saving Earth from an unknown entity, frequently tying into the "metaverse" concept used to promote his investment schemes. Most of these older videos were deleted around the time Meta Whale was announced in May 2025.
"Holiguards" expands on this "metaverse" backstory, recycling themes Okhotnikov used to lure victims into his earlier Ponzi operations. The film's official plot summary describes a future where "ancient Holiguards and Statiguards fight secretly for humanity." A woman discovers she is the child of rival leaders as a Statiguard plans to attack Paris and "unleash the Prime." Industry reports provide further detail, noting the film is set in a near-future world with hidden supernatural forces and two ancient warrior factions, the Holiguards and Statiguards, battling for humanity's fate. The young woman, daughter of rival leaders, holds the key to ending the conflict, while a Statiguard strategist prepares a catastrophic attack in Paris using a nuclear device, mind-controlled civilians, and cosmic energy to awaken an ancient force.
The funding for "Holiguards" remains opaque. Variety reported the film has a budget of approximately $10 million, shot in Mexico last year, and is currently in post-production. Elledgy Media Group produces "Holiguards" alongside Lado Film. Okhotnikov frequently refers to "Holiguards" as a "Lado Film" on social media. His involvement as both a writer and actor, despite no known prior professional experience in either field, raises questions about the source of the film's substantial budget.
Okhotnikov has publicly stated that "filmmaking has always been my aspiration." Given his fugitive status and the vast sums stolen from Forsage victims, the $10 million budget for "Holiguards" raises serious concerns it could be funded, at least in part, by laundered proceeds from the Ponzi scheme. A trailer for "Holiguards" premiered at events in Dubai and France in February, and later debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025.