A Hollywood agent stole $1.8 million from struggling actors on shows such as “Law & Order” — claiming some of their checks were late because of “earthquakes” while enjoying spa treatments at the Four Seasons, Manhattan officials said Tuesday.
Mark Measures, the disgraced former owner of KMR Talent, bilked 160 actors out of the hunk of dough in addition to stealing from six employees who worked at his agency, according to a 40-count indictment unsealed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
The washed-up agent, 60, was fueled by his illicit greed to fund his personal lifestyle — which included the fancy self-care hotel sessions as well as splurging $55,000 on seats at the Crypto.com Arena, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Rachana Pathak.
“This was during the time that actors and agents were begging for money,” Pathak told the judge. “Raiding escrow accounts is black-letter embezzlement.”
Measures also allegedly used the money for purchases at high-end clothing stores such as Zegna, Saks Fifth Avenue and Revolve, to pay off creditors, settle AMEX bills and make car payments.
The scheme, which ran between June 2021 and March 2024, stole residuals and holding fees from wannabe-bigtime actors who were represented in KMR, including those working in film, commercials and voiceover work nationwide.
Measures, who lives in Los Angeles, would find any excuse in the book to not pay his clients, blaming everything from banks, “earthquakes, power blackouts, sick employees, and mail delays” — until he ultimately ghosted them, prosecutors said.
One of his victims, Joe Gately — a Harlem actor who has appeared in episodes of “Law & Order” and “Blue Bloods” — told The Post after Tuesday’s arraignment that Measures owed him $6,500 over a drug-advertisement campaign in 2021.
“He’s a thief,” Gately, 59, seethed outside the courtroom. “We’ve all wondered where the money went, so today offered a little information. It’s not surprising at all he couldn’t pay.”
Messages including emails released by the DA’s office showed Measures’ clients demanding their money from the washed-up agent, including one where an alleged victim is seeking thousands of dollars owed to her for desperately needed medical treatment.
“Those funds (that seem to have been stolen by you at this point) were to be used for my IVF treatment,” the emailed message reads. “I am in the doctors office in tears as you’ve put me in a really challenging financial position by stealing my almost $20,000 from me.”
Measures is also accused of embezzling $26,000 from wages intended for the retirement accounts of six workers at his New York City-based office.
He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and refused to answer whether he stole money from his clients.
Judge Althea Drysdale ordered Measures to turn over his passport before releasing him, as the charges were not bail-eligible.
“As much as you hail from California, you must be here on any day that I tell you to be here,” the judge warned.
KMR operated as a franchise of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union until it was suspended in March 2024.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged victims to contact his office as the investigation remains ongoing.
“Rather than pay the actors and employees, the defendants used their hard-earned money to fund his lavish lifestyle,” Bragg said in a statement.
Measures is due back in court July 15.
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