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MoviePass's Company Parent Faces Fraud Probe in NY

On Thursday, New York's Attorney General announced her office was launching a securities fraud investigation into Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns MoviePass. However, the company is denying any wrongdoing.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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MoviePass is facing more trouble. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood is probing the company's parent, Helios and Matheson Analytics, for possible fraud.

"We've launched a securities fraud investigation into @MoviePass' parent company," Underwood tweeted on Thursday. "My office is committed to protecting New York investors and the integrity of our financial markets."

According to CNBC, Underwood is specifically investigating whether Helios and Matheson misled investors about the company's financials. In August 2017, Helios and Matheson bought up MoviePass right as the subscription service began to offer its all-you-can-watch ticketing plan for $9.95 a month.

The plan managed to attract more than 3 million consumers, but over the long term, it wasn't financially sustainable. At one point, MoviePass had no money to pay its bills. To cut down on costs, the service began limiting subscribers to three films per month. What films you can watch with MoviePass has also been capped to a rotating selection of seven or eight films, which change from day to day.

This has all been bad news for Helios and Matheson investors. The company's stock was at an all-time high in Oct. 2017, but has since plummeted in value to a few pennies per share. However, Helios and Matheson is denying it ever engaged in fraud.

"We are aware of the New York Attorney General's inquiry and are fully cooperating," the company told PCMag. "We believe our public disclosures have been complete, timely and truthful and we have not misled investors. We look forward to the opportunity to demonstrate that to the New York Attorney General. "

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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