A film producer from Brazil who found success in Hollywood on projects like 2019's `The Lighthouse` and the 2017 Oscar winner `Call Me by Your Name` finds himself accused by former business partners of fraud, lack of transparency and, according to one complaint, running a Ponzi scheme.

The producer is Rodrigo Teixeira, and his relentless drive has made him one of the darlings of Brazil's film industry. But according to a pair of lawsuits filed in Los Angeles and Sao Paulo, Teixeira, 47, has courted wealthy Brazilians to invest in his company, RT Features - and they have, to the tune of US$16 million - but the majority of the funds have allegedly disappeared, with no adequate records kept to show where they went.

In Brazilian court, Teixeira has countered that the lawsuit is `unfounded` and lacking in `material evidence` but that he will `comply with the judge's determination ... without even filing an appeal.`

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter)

Mussnich first met Teixeira in 2009. At the time, Teixeira was married to Maria Raduan, whose grandfather was one of Brazil's wealthiest cattle magnates, and the couple were moving in the elite circles of Sao Paulo society. Teixeira had recently shifted gears from a career in finance to producing. His strategy was to gobble up as much IP as he could, optioning the film and TV rights to dozens of book titles.