Due to the reputation of the organization for being composed of young, inexperienced men from moneyed families, it was jokingly referred to as the "Billionaire Boys' Club".
In 1984, Hunt was arrested for murdering Ron Levin, the group's main investor and himself a con artist, and Hedayat Eslaminia, the father of one of the club's members.
The organization was run as a Ponzi scheme,[6] and money contributed by investors was spent on supporting lavish lifestyles for young members of the club.
Hunt and club security director Jim Pittman were charged with the murder of Levin, a con artist[7] who had allegedly swindled the BBC out of over $4 million.
Pittman was unable to make $500,000 bail ($1.5 million today), so he was kept incarcerated through two Southern California trials for his active role in the murder of Levin.
In 1988, before a third trial, prosecutors offered Pittman a deal, whereby he pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact and possession of a concealed weapon, and was sentenced to time served, being the 3+1⁄2 years he was incarcerated since his 1984 arrest.
Defense attorneys also pointed out that Levin had restructured his already-made bail arrangements to release his parents from liability, and asked one witness for information about Brazilian extradition treaties.
[12] On the basis of multiple witness statements that Levin had been seen alive, and claims of ineffective assistance of counsel[10] and judicial misconduct,[13] Hunt sought to have his murder conviction overturned and get a new trial.
[14] In a federal habeas corpus hearing in 2004, Hunt's continuing effort to have his murder conviction overturned was revived, as the Ninth Circuit reversed a dismissal of his petition.
A feature film titled Billionaire Boys Club starring Ansel Elgort as Joe Hunt, Taron Egerton as Dean Karny, and Kevin Spacey as Ron Levin was released in 2018.
[24] The lyrics of the song "Things To Do Today" by the Chicago band Big Black are a verbatim to-do list entered as evidence in the BBC trial.