Former StyleHaul Executive Sentenced To 6 Years In Prison

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A former Hollywood marketing executive who worked at a company representing Instagram and YouTube personalities was sentenced to 6 years and 5 months in federal prison for embezzling over $22 million from his employer for gambling and other personal expenses. 31-year-old Dennis Blieden was also ordered to pay nearly $22.7 million in restitution by a U.S. District judge on Wednesday.

Blieden served as controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul from October 2015 to March 2019, a digital marketing company representing social media influencers. Blieden had control over the company's bank accounts, and admitted in a plea agreement to abusing that power to wire company money to his personal bank account. He then used that money to pay for personal expenses and to fund cryptocurrency trading.

He then concealed the fraud by making false entries in StyleHaul's accounting records that said the wire transfers were authorized payments to StyleHaul clients. He also said that wire transfers to his own personal account were "equity" draws that the company owed him.

Blieden later created a fake lease in May 2018 to rent a condo in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, through a forged signature of a StyleHaul executive. He falsely said the condo was being rented for business purposes for the company's clients and employees.

In November 2019, Blieden pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Blieden blamed a life-long addiction to gambling for his crimes, telling the judge in a 14-page letter that he began gambling at the age of three when his father used the game of blackjack to teach him to count. At age 13, Blieden wrote, he began playing poker for money and became "obsessed" with the game.

After attempting to relocate from Hollywood to London, StyleHaul shut down permanently in 2019 around the same time the Blieden was arrested for wire fraud. During its run, the company represented influencers such as Cameron Dallas and Ashley Tisdale.

City News Service contributed to this report.