Universal PicturesFederal prosecutors have indicted 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch for allegedly accepting $11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi series that never materialised.
Carl Rinsch has one feature film on his CV – the martial arts fantasy flick 47 Ronin, which starred Keanu Reeves, and hit screens in 2013.
He then made a short called The Shapeshifter in 2015, before starting work on big-budget sci-fi series White Horse.
That project started life as an Amazon show before being purchased by Netflix for $61 million in 2018. But now the lack of end product could result in Rinsch going to jail.
47 Ronin director spends Netflix millions on hotels, cars, and bedding
Universal PicturesAccording to Deadline, Rinsch burned through $44 million of Netflix money while working on White Horse, then demanded a further $11 million in 2020 for “pre- and post-production needs to complete the series.”
A year later, when no show was forthcoming, Netflix shut the project down, wrote off $55 million in costs, and eventually won a $12 million arbitration ruling against Rinsch in 2024. A sum that reportedly hasn’t been paid.
Deadline reports that Rinsch had moved the money around via various bank accounts, while an inventory compiled by the FBI includes the following expenses:
- $3,787,000 on furniture and antiques
- $2,417,000 on cars
- $1,787,000 on credit card bills
- $1,073,000 on lawyers
- $652,000 on watches and clothing
- $638,000 on two mattresses
- $395,000 to hotels hotel and rental properties
- $295,000 on luxury bedding and linens
According to the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, Rinsch is charged with: “one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.”
While when presenting the 12-page-indictment, FBI Assistant Director Leslie Backschies said: “Carl Rinsch allegedly stole more than $11 million from a prominent streaming platform to finance lavish purchases and personal investments instead of completing a promised television series. The FBI will continue to reel in any individual who seeks to defraud businesses.”
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