• Ted Farnsworth is the former CEO of Helios and Matheson Analytics, which previously owned MoviePass.
• The documentary "MoviePass, MovieCrash" shows how he blew through hundreds of millions of dollars.
• He and former MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

In the HBO documentary "MoviePass, MovieCrash," Ted Farnsworth is the CEO of the publicly traded Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY) when the company takes a majority stake in the movie-theater-subscription startup MoviePass in 2017.

Under Farnsworth's watch, MoviePass became a sensation after he and then-CEO Mitch Lowe dropped the monthly subscription fee from $30 a month to $10. It led to millions of subscribers and the company being hailed as the Netflix of movie theaters. Farnsworth and Lowe touted themselves in the press as the masterminds behind it all.

The documentary — based on reporting by Business Insider —reveals the more complicated reality of the phenomenon, showing how MoviePass cofounders Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt were pushed out of the company after the arrival of Farnsworth and Lowe.

With Farnsworth and Lowe at the helm, hundreds of millions of dollars were spent to not just keep the unsustainable $10-a-month plan going, but also on lavish parties at Coachella, and starting a movie production arm best known for releasing the 2018 movie "Gotti," a biopic on notorious crime boss John Gotti starring John Travolta that received a 0% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In 2020, both HMNY and MoviePass went bankrupt (Spikes has since relaunched MoviePass), and two years later, Farnsworth and Lowe were charged with securities fraud.

As the documentary shows, the crash of MoviePass is just one of many failed ventures of the 61-year-old Farnsworth. Business Insider reached out to Farnsworth for comment but didn't get a response.

Here's a rundown of many of those companies (some of which went bankrupt), what Farnsworth did after MoviePass, and why he's currently in jail.

Note: "MoviePass, MovieCrash" is based on Business Insider's award-winning reporting on the company.

Bonita Mersiades is a FIFA whistleblower and a former head of corporate and public affairs at Football Australia. She played a key role in Australia's bid to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, a bidding season at the heart of a major FIFA corruption scandal that led to the indictment of 14 officials and executives.

After she was fired in 2010, Mersiades became a prominent whistleblower and helped expose "the FIFA way," the culture of bribery and corruption within FIFA. Her efforts contributed to investigations that led to high-profile FIFA arrests in 2015. She is the author of "Whatever It Takes: The Inside Story of the FIFA Way" and the founder of Fair Play Publishing, a company specializing in nonfiction stories about football.

Mersiades speaks with Business Insider about the ongoing culture of corruption within FIFA, the controversial 2018 and 2022 selections of Russia and Qatar, and the history of misconduct and misogyny within the world of football. She speaks about the future of the World Cup tournament, which has been awarded to Saudi Arabia for 2034.

For more: https://www.amazon.com.au/Whatever-Takes-Inside-Story-FIFA/dp/1925914682

• Rebecca Yarros is best known for writing "Fourth Wing."
• The third book in her romantasy series will be released on January 21.
• Yarros has already published over 20 novels, and two are being adapted into shows and films.

Rebecca Yarros has been busy for the past two years.

Since January 2023, Yarros, 43, has become a household name thanks to her bestselling novel "Fourth Wing" and its sequel, "Iron Flame."

She also released two titles unrelated to "Fourth Wing" and had two of her works optioned for screen adaptations while raising six children with her husband, Jason.

The third book in the "The Empyrean" series, "Onyx Storm," will hit bookshelves on January 21, and readers are on the edge of their seats to see how dragon rider Violet Sorrengail's story will continue.

Ahead of its release, take a look back at the prolific author's career, from writing her first novel to hitting The New York Times bestseller list with her romantasy debut.

The military defined much of Rebecca Yarros' early life

Both of Yarros' parents were lieutenant colonels, so she moved around frequently during her childhood, as she told The New York Times.

Yarros shared on her website that she enrolled in the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, for college, where she had a vocal scholarship. When she was 19, she met Jason Yarros at a karaoke bar. The New York Times reported that he was a private in the Army at the time.

The couple tied the knot in 2002, and Yarros dropped out of school when they were expecting their first child shortly after they got married.

Yarros and her husband have six children, including their adopted daughter Audrey-Grace, who inspired them to found the nonprofit One October. Today, the couple lives in Colorado, and they have a cat, two dogs, and two chinchillas in addition to their children.

Yarros published her first book in 2014

Yarros got her degree in history and English from Troy University online while she was raising her children.

Her husband Jason continued to serve in the military until 2019, and he was deployed to Iran and Afghanistan multiple times throughout their marriage.

The "Fourth Wing" author told the Times that she started reading romance books and writing them at night when she developed insomnia after her husband was injured during one of his deployments.

She first wrote an urban fantasy in 2011 but couldn't sell the book. Then, in 2014, Entangled Publishing released her debut novel "Full Measures," the first installment in the "Fight & Glory" series.

Since then, Yarros has published over 20 books, and many of her works are inspired by the role the military played in her life.

However, none gained the traction "Fourth Wing" did when it was released in 2023.

'Fourth Wing' changed everything

In 2020, Yarros and four of her children were diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome after she started passing out frequently and getting migraines, The Times reported. The rare group of genetic disorders weakens the body's connective tissues and can cause an array of health problems.

The diagnosis helped inspire Yarros to write "Fourth Wing," which Entangled's burgeoning romance imprint, Red Tower, published in April 2023.

In the novel, 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail's mother forces her to enter the Rider's Quadrant at Basgiath War College to train to be a dragon rider, even though she spent her life preparing to become a Scribe.

Violet not only hasn't been preparing to be a Rider, but her medical condition — which isn't named in the novel but Yarros confirmed on Instagram is Ehlers-Danlos — makes training more risky for her than her classmates. Plus, many of her peers have it out for Violet, as they are the children of the Rebels her mother helped destroy.

But Violet proves surprisingly powerful, and her success at the school brings her closer to Xaden Riorson, the son of a rebel and someone she never expected to fall for.

"Fourth Wing" became an instant New York Times bestseller and BookTok sensation, finding an eager audience as the romantasy genre, which blends romance and fantasy, grew in popularity.

Red Tower published the second book in "The Empyrean" series, "Iron Flame," in October of 2023, just six months after "Fourth Wing" came out. It was a massive success despite a messy rollout, with the books selling over 1 million copies combined in the first half of 2024 alone, according to Publisher's Weekly.

Yarros isn't slowing down anytime soon

The third installment of "The Empyrean" series, "Onyx Storm," will be released on January 21. Yarros is attending a midnight release party for the book at Barnes & Noble The Grove in Los Angeles to celebrate.

The author has started sharing snippets of the book on her Instagram, hinting at how Violet and Xaden's story will continue.

Yarros plans for the series to have five books in total, and she is still publishing titles unrelated to Violet's world amid the rollout of "The Empyrean" series. Indeed, Yarros published "Variation," a contemporary romance, in November 2024.

In addition to writing books, the author will be busy with adaptations of her works in the coming years.

Amazon MGM Studios bought the rights to "The Empyrean" series and already started working on making a TV show based on "Fourth Wing," as Deadline reported in October 2023. Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society will produce the show, with Yarros serving as an executive producer. Moira Walley-Beckett, who produced "Breaking Bad" and "Anne with an E," will be the showrunner.

Casting has yet to be announced for the series, nor has a release date. In a clip of a Q&A shared on TikTok, Yarros said she doesn't have control over casting, though she made clear to the team working on the project that she doesn't want Xaden to be whitewashed.

"They know how staunch I am against whitewashing Xaden," she said. "I think that's the biggest thing."

In the series, Xaden is described as having "warm tawny skin," dark hair, and stubble.

The Hollywood Reporter also revealed in October that Yarros' 2023 novel "In the Likely Event" is being adapted into a Netflix film by Lindsey Ferrentino. Yarros will be an executive producer on the project as well.

Red Tower and Yarros have not announced a release date or title for the fourth "Empyrean" book, though it likely won't come out too far in the future given the author's rapid writing pace.

Tom Brady, a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, is expected to have a lot of influence on the team's head coaching search.

California's unemployment rate decreased slightly in November 2024. The state is among just eight other states to experience a decrease.

The Las Vegas Raiders have officially fired Antonio Pierce after just one full season.

• The parent company of fast-casual chain Panera Bread has a new CEO.
• The restaurant has undergone a menu overhaul and seen lawsuits over highly caffeinated beverages.
• It's the latest in a series of leadership switches at restaurant chains over the past 12 months.

The parent company of fast-casual chain Panera Bread is getting a new chief executive, the latest in a series of CEO transitions at major restaurant chains.

Panera Brands said Tuesday that current CEO José Alberto Dueñas, who has held the job for the last 1 ½ years, would step down immediately but remain as a "special advisor" to the new CEO until the end of March. Paul Carbone, Panera's CFO, will serve as interim CEO as the company looks for a permanent leader.

"I am immensely proud of leading Panera during this transformative period for the Company," Dueñas said. Panera Brands includes the eponymous chain as well as Caribou Coffee and bagel chain Einstein Bros.

Dueñas joined Panera in mid-2023, with the chain describing his appointment as its "next generation of CEO leadership and Board governance in preparation for its eventual IPO." While the company reportedly filed confidentially to go public in late 2023, it has yet to list.

Dueñas also oversaw the Panera chain's "largest menu transformation ever" in 2024, which included more focus on items like mac and cheese and sandwiches and bigger portion sizes.

The menu changes also eliminated Panera's Charged Sips range of beverages, which contained high levels of caffeine. The drinks were the subject of multiple lawsuits, which alleged that they left some customers with permanent injuries and problems such as body shakes.

The executive change at Panera is the latest of several CEO switches at major restaurant chains over the past year amid a tough consumer spending environment for brands from McDonald's to Nike.

Brian Niccol, formerly the CEO of Mexican grill chain Chipotle, took over the top job at Starbucks in September in an abrupt end to former CEO Laxman Narasimhan's time in the role. Starbucks has reported falling sales in key markets, including the US and China, for much of the past year.

Scott Boatwright, previously Chipotle's COO, took over as interim CEO in August.

Meanwhile, former P.F. Chang's CEO Damola Adamolekun has helmed Red Lobster since September, the same month that the seafood-focused chain emerged from bankruptcy.

Subway CEO John Chidsey retired at the end of 2024, the year after he oversaw the sandwich chain's sale to private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal worth about $9 billion.

Do you work at Panera and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected]

• Ted Farnsworth pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in MoviePass and Vinco.
• Farnsworth has been in prison since August 2023.
• MoviePass's $10 plan led to its popularity but was unsustainable, causing bankruptcy.

Ted Farnsworth pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding investors in the movie-ticket subscription service MoviePass, the US Department of Justice announced. He bought the company in 2017 while CEO of Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY).

Farnsworth, 62, also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for a second scheme related to a video-sharing platform he was involved with while under investigation for MoviePass.

Farnsworth has been in federal custody since August 2023.

"Farnsworth was anxious to accept responsibility for his conduct," Farnsworth's lawyer, Sam Rabin, told Business Insider in a statement. "The most important step in doing that was to plead guilty to the crimes with which he is charged. He did that today."

The Department of Justice charged Farnsworth and then MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe with securities fraud in 2022. The DOJ alleged that Lowe and Farnsworth "engaged in a scheme to defraud investors through materially false and misleading representations relating to HMNY and MoviePass's business and operations to artificially inflate the price of HMNY's stock and attract new investors."

The DOJ also recently charged Farnsworth and others with using "the same strategy to defraud" investors in Vinco Ventures, another publicly traded company.

Lowe, the former MoviePass CEO, pleaded guilty to securities fraud conspiracy in September 2024.

The rise and fall of MoviePass

In 2017, HMNY became the parent company of MoviePass. Farnsworth and Lowe launched a $10-a-month plan that made the service very popular. As subscriptions soared into the millions, HMNY's stock skyrocketed.

However, the $10 plan — which allowed subscribers to see a movie a day in theaters — was not sustainable, and the company burned through hundreds of millions of dollars. By 2020, both MoviePass and HMNY went bankrupt.

MoviePass founder Stacy Spikes, who was ousted by Lowe and Farnsworth from MoviePass in 2018, bought back the company in 2021.

MoviePass — under Spikes' leadership — is currently available nationwide.

The story of the rise and fall of MoviePass is chronicled in the documentary "MoviePass, MovieCrash," which was released in May and is based on BI's award-winning reporting.

• Amazon delayed its full RTO plan in some locations due to insufficient office space.
• An internal list shows the where Amazon employees will work three days a week until space is ready.
• The list shows more than 40 locations where the full five-day RTO policy is delayed.

Amazon delayed its five-day return-to-office plan in some locations due to a lack of space, as Business Insider recently reported.

An internal Amazon list viewed by Business Insider shows where employees are being asked to continue following the company's previous policy, requiring only three days a week in the office.

The locations include major tech hubs such as Santa Clara, Austin, Beijing, Shenzhen, and Bangalore.

Amazon's original guidance required employees to work from the office five days a week, beginning January 2. An Amazon spokesperson told BI on Tuesday that buildings were ready for a majority of employees on that day.

The company's real estate team late last year started notifying employees that they could continue following their current in-office guidance until workspaces were ready, with delays stretching to as late as May, according to internal Amazon notifications viewed by BI.

The company has said the return to office will improve collaboration and bring other benefits. CEO Andy Jassy, in a memo announcing the mandate, said Amazon made the decision to "further strengthen" its culture and teams.

Here are more of the Amazon locations where employees are being told to continue working three days a week in the office:

Raleigh, Annapolis Junction, Baltimore, Columbia, Austin, Cupertino, Irvine, Nashville, Boulder, Charlotte, Houston, Jersey City, Newark, Atlanta, Dallas, East Palo Alto, Mexico City, Santa Clara, Sao Paulo, Tampa, Miami, Brooklyn, Columbus, New York, Sacramento, Hamburg, Munich, Tel Aviv, Amman, Milan, Cairo, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Dubai, Istanbul, Beijing, Hyderabad, Shenzhen, Bangalore, Mumbai, and Shanghai.

Are you a tech-industry employee or someone else with insight to share?

Contact the reporter, Ashley Stewart, via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email ([email protected]). Use a nonwork device.

The cookie program is the "largest entrepreneurial program in the world," according to the Girl Scouts.

Biden was scheduled to announce the creation of two new national monuments that will honor Native American tribes.

With the No. 2 overall pick, the Cleveland Browns use it on a non-quarterback position.

Will a reality TV star be the one to save the popular social media app from being banned?

November's figures mark the highest levels recorded since February 2024.

The Palisades Fire in Southern California has rapidly grown to 200 acres, prompting evacuations amid severe winds. Follow Newsweek's live blog.

The conservative group Judicial Watch announced that Willis has to cover about $20,000 in legal fees.

Vanna White reveals some memorable 'Wheel' blunders over the years.

HGTV star Christina Haack fired back at her estranged husband, Josh Hall, after he claimed their drama was 'manufactured' by the network.

Robin Antar makes sculptures about what America is and to tell history, including through her Make America Great Again hat.

The veteran wrestling legend's recent appearance has people talking.