BlueStar Technologies’ Hansen pleads not guilty to fraud charges

The man who once promised Spokane’s business leaders and elected officials he’d build a bustling Blu-ray factory downtown pleaded not guilty Monday to a 16-count federal fraud indictment.

Clad in jeans, a sweatshirt and a pair of eyeglasses, Erick Hansen punctuated his replies to U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John Rodgers with vigorous head nods and promised he’d return to Spokane for hearings in the case, which has been more than a year in the making.

“I’m looking forward to my day in court,” said Hansen, who faces charges of mail and wire fraud.

Though BlueStar Technologies remains a legally licensed corporation, court records show the company has produced just $500,000 in revenue since 2007. This in spite of gushing seals of approval from multiple Spokane mayors and what amounted to a red carpet unfurling for Hansen to take ownership of the historically significant Commercial Building that previously housed low-income residents.

FBI forensics investigators have produced 70,000 pages of evidence in the case, persuading a grand jury last month to indict Hansen, a Los Angeles native, with bilking at least 10 far-flung investors out of almost $400,000. Hansen was arrested last month and appeared before a California judge, said Chris Bugbee, Hansen’s private attorney. He posted a $50,000 appearance bond and is out of jail pending trial.

Rodgers granted a prosecution request that Hansen wear a GPS monitor upon his return to California. But he prohibited Hansen, who claimed to be working on a movie project, from handling investor money or their confidential information.

“I don’t mean to pry, but there’s a lot of things you can do in movie production without handling other people’s money,” Rodgers said.

The indictment also alleges Hansen’s executive vice president at BlueStar Technologies, headquartered at 1119 W. First Ave., knowingly deceived investors about the facility’s production capabilities while collecting nearly a half-million dollars in commissions over a seven-year period. Sean Michael Borzage Boyd also pleaded not guilty to charges last week and was released without bond. His attorney did not return a call requesting comment Monday.

Hansen’s involvement in Spokane began in 2007, when he pitched the idea for a high-definition moviemaking plant in the Commercial Building. Hansen touted his ties to Hollywood luminaries such as Roy Disney and Steven Spielberg, telling local business owners he envisioned a “Disney-like” experience at the plant that would allow tours and interactive exhibits.

But months passed and production continued to be delayed. In 2008, an investor sued the company, then called BlueRay Technologies, for failing to disclose financial records. The ouster of low-income residents from the Commercial Building spawned a federal civil lawsuit and several warrants were issued for unpaid taxes, according to court records. The company also changed its name in response to the Blu-ray Disc Association’s claim Hansen’s name was too similar to its own.

Hansen continued promoting the business, announcing in 2009 he’d teamed up with Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, to release never-before-seen home videos of the singer in high definition. The indictment filed last month alleges Hansen used the relationship to attract more investor money, though he knew the Spokane facility was not operational and he hadn’t obtained the rights to press the Michael Jackson discs there.

In July 2012, Hansen inked a contract with a Canadian company for exclusive rights to distribute an animated film, but that deal also went nowhere while investors continued to pour in cash. FBI agents say that money was used to pay court-ordered fines out of California and to fund lavish trips to Hawaii, according to court documents.

Federal agents raided the BlueStar offices in November 2013 and interviewed several of the building’s occupants as well as employees of the company, which remains a registered corporation out of Nevada. Witnesses said Hansen would dress up janitors and other clerical workers in lab coats during investor visits to check on production, part of what he called “managing the perception,” according to one employee.

The lavish pitches drew the support of former Spokane mayors Dennis Hession and Mary Verner, as well as a Spokane Valley marketing firm and Greater Spokane Incorporated. Hession appeared in a promotional video for the company and Verner wrote a letter of support in 2008.

Hansen told Rodgers on Monday that he had no money to hire an attorney, but that he’d like to have Bugbee continue to assist him at public expense.