Hollywood Director Convicted of Spending $11M from Netflix on Luxury Watches, 5 Rolls Royces and a Red Ferrari
- - Hollywood Director Convicted of Spending $11M from Netflix on Luxury Watches, 5 Rolls Royces and a Red Ferrari
Gabrielle RocksonDecember 12, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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Keizo Mori/UPI/Shutterstock
Director Carl Rinsch at a world premiere for the film 47 RONIN in Tokyo, Japan, on November 19, 2013. -
Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch has been found guilty of using an $11 million business investment from Netflix to speculate on cryptocurrency and fund lavish personal expenses
Rinsch spent at least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses, alongside other purchases, the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York said on Thursday, Dec. 11
The director was convicted of financial crimes including one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, which both carry maximum sentences of 20 years
Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch has been found guilty of using an $11 million business investment from Netflix to fund his lavish personal spending.
On Thursday, Dec. 11, the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of New York announced in a release that Rinsch had been convicted for his role “in a fraudulent scheme” involving funds that were meant to be used to complete a science fiction TV show called White Horse.
Rinsch instead used the money “to speculate on cryptocurrency, and on personal expenses and luxury items, including at least $1.7 million on credit card bills; at least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses; at least $387,000 on a Swiss watch; and at least $2.4 million on five Rolls Royces and a red Ferrari," the statement added.
The director was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, which both carry maximum sentences of 20 years.
He was also found guilty of five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, which each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.
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Director Carl Erik Rinsch at New Directors showcase in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2015
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“Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”
According to the U.S. Attorney's release, Rinsch, who directed the 2013 movie 47 RONIN starring Keanu Reeves, had “partially completed” White Horse and had signed an agreement with Netflix that he would be paid “for the existing episodes” and funded by the streamer for the completion of the series.
“Between 2018 and 2019, Streaming Company-1 paid approximately $44 million for White Horse,” the statement read.
Rinsch then asked for more money for the show in 2019 and 2020. He was given another $11 million, which was transferred to a company he controlled in March 2020.
“The entirety of those funds was to be spent on the completion of White Horse,” the release added. However, “within days, Rinsch began transferring the funds he received through a number of different bank accounts before consolidating them in a personal brokerage account."
Keizo Mori/UPI/Shutterstock
Director Carl Rinsch at the world premiere for 47 RONIN in Tokyo, Japan on Nov. 19, 2013
“Rinsch then used those funds to make a number of personal and speculative purchases of securities,” officials added. “His trading was unsuccessful, and in less than two months after receiving $11 million from Streaming Company-1, RINSCH had lost more than half of those funds.”
PEOPLE previously reported that the director, 49, had been charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
This came after he breached an agreement with a streaming service identified as Netflix by The New York Times.
PEOPLE has contacted Netflix for comment.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
