Director convicted of scamming $11M from Netflix and going on lavish spending spree

NEW YORK (AP) — A Hollywood director was convicted Thursday on charges that he defrauded Netflix of $11 million for a show that never materialized, instead using the money for lavish purchases that included several Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari and nearly $1 million in mattresses and luxury bedding.

Carl Erik Rinsch, best known as the director of the movie “47 Ronin,” was found guilty of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges, according to court records and a spokesman for the federal prosecutor in New York.

Rinsch’s attorney, Benjamin Zeman, said in a statement that the ruling was wrong and “could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors (in this case, one of the world’s largest media companies) and find themselves accused of fraud by the federal government.”

Netflix initially paid Rinsch about $44 million for the unfinished sci-fi series called “White Horse,” then sent him another $11 million after he said he needed additional financing to complete production, prosecutors said.

But instead of investing the money in the show, Rinsch diverted the money to a personal account, where he made a series of unsuccessful investments and lost nearly half of the $11 million within a few months, according to prosecutors.

He then invested the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market and made some profit, but Rinsch later deposited the money into his own bank account.

Then came the lavish purchases, in which Rinsch bought $652,000 in watches and clothing, along with five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, prosecutors said. He also bought two beds for about $638,000 and spent another $295,000 on luxury bedding and linens. He also used some of the money to pay credit card bills of about $1.8 million, prosecutors said.

Rinsch never finished the show. The sentencing date was set for April.

Netflix declined to comment.