[gonzo]

'Middle Men' Producer Puts His Real-Life Porn Customers in a Squeeze

Paramount Pictures’ “Middle Men” was a flop last month despite positive buzz. But that was the least of the problems for producer Christopher Mallick, who based the film on his own ecommerce online porn business - which is now in trouble, a Wrap investigation shows.

As owner of the Visa-branded ePassporte, Mallickis the middle man handling transactions in the tens of millions of dollars for an extensive network of online pornography sites.

In a rare move, Visa International has suspended transactions with the virtual payment system, an equivalent to Paypal.

And it's not the first time ePassporte has hit a roadblock. In 2008, Mallick was forced to stop processing its gambling transactions in the wake of a widespread federal investigation of the industry.

Visa’s action last week blocked online porn enthusiasts when they attempted to use what amounts to a prepaid cyber credit card.

According to frantic chat-room postings, ePassporte account holders worldwide also have been blocked from accessing untold sums of cash through ATMs using pre-loaded cards. One ePassporte customer purportedly has $248,758.38 in his account.

More here http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column...-squeeze-20733