L.A.-based agent Mark Measures indicted in Manhattan, accused of stealing from actor clients

Mark Measures, a longtime Los Angeles-based talent agent, has been indicted along with his agency, Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin and Associates, after authorities alleged he stole more than $1.8 million from 160 actors and about $26,000 in wages from employees at the agency’s New York City office.

New York County Dist. Atty. Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said in a news release on Tuesday that many of the actors who lost money were “balancing other jobs to stay afloat while pursuing their acting careers.” The money Measures allegedly stole from his employees were wages that were meant to be invested in their retirement accounts, Bragg said.

“Rather than pay the actors and employees, the defendants used their hard-earned money to fund [Measures’] lavish lifestyle. This alleged conduct is egregious,” Bragg said.

Measures — whose client list includes Elizabeth Perkins of “Big” and “This Is Us,” Merrin Dungey of “Alias,” Jerry Mathers of “Leave It to Beaver” and TV personality Bob Eubanks — did not reply immediately to The Times’ emailed request for comment.

Prosecutors allege Measures spent the money at Crypto.com Arena and a Four Seasons Hotel spa and bought luxury goods from brands including Stuart Weitzman and Ermenegildo Zegna. The agency gave actors excuses including earthquakes, blackouts, sick employees and bank and mail delays to justify the missing funds, the district attorney’s office said.

“Measures personally called or emailed many actors, assuring them that they would be paid and never disputing the amounts owed,” the district attorney’s office said. “He ultimately ceased communications with the actors altogether.”

The 40 counts against Measures and KMR include one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, three counts of second-degree grand larceny, 28 counts of third-degree grand larceny, five counts of fourth-degree grand larceny and three counts of petit larceny. The alleged crimes happened from June 23, 2021 to March 22, 2024, court records show.

The majority of the alleged thefts involved hard-to-track residual payments and holding fees earned by actors in New York City who filmed commercials, voiced ads and appeared in TV shows like “Law & Order,” according to prosecutors.

The district attorney’s office said in its release that Measures, who was president of KMR, diverted the money to cover business expenses, creditors and personal expenditures. “When actors inquired about their payments, Measures made excuses, blaming the ‘bank’ or ‘slow mail,’ and promised to send out checks that either bounced or were never sent,” and many of the victims still haven’t been paid, the release said.

As a SAG-AFTRA franchisee, KMR — which is now permanently closed — was required to hold funds from production companies in trust and disburse the money to the actors “promptly,” meaning within seven business days. Agents were to deduct a 10% commission before disbursement.

Deceased clients of Measures listed on IMDbPro include game-show hosts Wink Martindale and Gene Rayburn and legendary deejay Casey Kasem.

The money allegedly stolen from KMR employees between September 2023 and March 2024 was intended to go into their 401(k) retirement accounts, the district attorney’s office said.

KMR’s Instagram account, which has not posted anything new since March 2024 when it ceased to be a SAG-AFTRA franchised agency, is full of comments posted last year that allege money was being stolen by the agency and advise actors to get paid directly by production companies instead of via KMR.

“Prospective actors steer clear of Mark Measures. He is a con artist,” actor Kate Amundsen wrote in a comment posted last July. “He stole from me and many, many others for YEARS. Do not go anywhere near this scam artist. Shame on you Mark.”

Amundsen has credits dating to 2013 that include appearances on shows such as “Criminal Minds” and “9-1-1: Lone Star.”