Hollywood director gets two and a half years in prison for defrauding Netflix
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- Carl Erik Rinsch, 48, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison by Judge Jay Rakoff in New York after being convicted of federal fraud and money laundering.
- Netflix had given Rinsch roughly $55 million for the unfinished sci-fi series initially named "White Horse," including $11 million he claimed was needed to complete production.
- Rinsch diverted the $11 million into a personal account, investing in cryptocurrency where he lost half within months and spending on Rolls Royce cars and mattresses costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Despite facing up to 90 years in prison, Rinsch received a lighter sentence along with three years of supervised release, $11 million in forfeitures, and a $700 fine.
- Netflix executives testified they only agreed to one season of the show, which Rinsch failed to deliver, while Rinsch himself took the stand to claim the funds were meant to keep the show going during the pandemic.
- Best known for the 2013 film "47 Ronin," Rinsch was described by friends as increasingly erratic after signing the Netflix deal, reportedly claiming he could predict lightning strikes and volcanic eruptions and knew a "secret transmission mechanism" for Covid-19.
Why it matters: Rinsch must forfeit the full $11 million, effectively repaying the defrauded amount on top of his prison time. US Attorney Jay Clayton framed the sentence as a "deterrent message" against fraud. For Netflix, the case exposes the risk of large upfront production payments to a single creative without milestone controls—when the show never gets made.
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