Netflix Scammed Out of $11 Million by Convicted Director
▼ Summary
– Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch was convicted of fraud and money laundering for scamming $11 million from Netflix.
– He received the funds to complete a sci-fi series called *White Horse* (later *Conquest*) but did not use the money for production.
– Instead, Rinsch lost over half the money through failed investments and spent the rest on cryptocurrency and luxury items.
– His extravagant purchases included five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, high-end watches, and expensive furniture and antiques.
– Rinsch is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes on April 17th, 2026.
A New York jury has found Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch guilty of fraud and money laundering, convicting him of scamming $11 million from Netflix. The funds, intended for the production of a science fiction series, were instead diverted to a personal spending spree on luxury cars and speculative investments. This case highlights significant financial oversight issues within the entertainment industry’s high-stakes production deals.
Prosecutors detailed that Rinsch, known for directing 47 Ronin, received the multi-million dollar payment from Netflix to complete a series originally titled White Horse, later renamed Conquest. The project was described as a story about a genius who creates a humanlike species called the Organic Intelligent, with events spiraling into disaster. Rather than channeling the budget into production, Rinsch allegedly used the capital for a rapid series of poor investments, losing over half of the money in under two months.
The remainder of the funds financed an extravagant personal shopping list. Court documents reveal expenditures of at least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses, alongside $387,000 for a Swiss watch. The most conspicuous purchases were five Rolls-Royces and a red Ferrari, totaling over $2.4 million. Prosecutors also noted substantial losses from reckless cryptocurrency trading, effectively squandering the streaming giant’s production advance.
Rinsch’s sentencing is scheduled for April 17, 2026. The conviction serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in content financing, where large sums are advanced based on trust and projected deliverables. For Netflix, this represents a multimillion-dollar loss on a project that never materialized, underscoring the financial risks even major studios face when backing ambitious creative ventures.
(Source: The Verge)
