Chiklis is creating a drama about investor fraud

[December 19, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Michael Chiklis didn't lose any money in the escalating Bernard Madoff scandal. But he did fall victim to another Ponzi scheme early this year. And now, sadder but wiser, he's developing a TV series fueled by his experience.

Chiklis has been gathering material from others also hurt by investor scams, "and if I had hair, it'd curl," says the actor, who starred in the recently concluded FX cop drama "The Shield."

Soon he hopes to have a pilot script for "House of Cards."

"There are fascinating characters who perpetrate these schemes," says Chiklis, more convinced than ever that a drama about such scoundrels and their prey would be relatable to viewers.

"The Madoff situation tells me how pervasive these rip-offs have become," he says. "And there's more ahead, I'm sure."

[Associated Press; By FRAZIER MOORE]

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.