The head of a Santa Barbara Construction Company faces up to nine years in prison for defrauding movie director Robert Zemeckis.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office says Mark John Melchiori has pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges.
He reportedly took more than $500,000 from Zemeckis, who had hired him to remodel his home.
Prosecutors say Melchiori instead used the money to finance his own lavish lifestyle and fund other projects. Investigators reportedly found that Melchiori also had been underpaying his workers on other public projects and funneling the money through various companies to cover up his crimes.
Melchiori is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
