LA Filmmaker Charged With Movie Tax Credit Fraud In Massachusetts

News reports saywriter-director Daniel Adams was arraignedtoday with defrauding Massachusetts of about $5 million in inflated tax credits he obtained for The Golden Boys and The Lightkeepers.Adams appeared this morning in Boston Municipal Court and ordered held on $100,000 bail. He was arrested Thursday andcharged quickly because authorities want to keep him from flying back to Los Angeles. His attorney said officials had rushed to judgement. Production companies are eligible for a 25% tax credit for payroll and filmmaking expenses incurred in Massachusetts. Prosecutors allege Los Angeles-based Adams intentionally inflated expenses when completing forms for the tax credit andthe state overpaaid some $4.7 million to his production companies. One of Adams’ alleged false claims waspaying Richard Dreyfuss $2.5 million for The Lightkeepers when the actor’s actual fee was $400,000. Maximum penalty if convicted is five years in prison. Both movies were written and directed by Adams andset in the early 20th centuryalong the Cape Cod coast.The Golden Boys (2008) starred David Carradine, Rip Torn and Bruce Dern. The Lightkeepers (2009) starred Dreyfuss, Julie Harris, and Blythe Danner.Adams most recently directed The Big Valley, starring Jessica Lange as the matriarch of a California family based on the TV series that starred Barbara Stanwyck.