Indictment attached: Carl Rinsch arrested for defrauding $11 million from Netflix

Carl Rinsch – perhaps most prominent for directing ‘47 Ronin‘ – has been arrested on charges of defrauding $11 million from Netflix for a scientific fiction series that did not air, instead steering the money in the direction of cryptocurrency and other purchases.

Rinsch is facing charges of fraud and money laundering. Federal prosecutors are alleging a scheme to defraud the streaming giant. In addition to crypto, the director also made a series of purchases, including a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari.

Carl Rinsch makes some extremely risky purchases

In the indictment, it has been stated that some years back, Netflix paid the Rinsch Company and other related entities approximately $44 million to complete the sci-fi series. Some months later, the director apparently demanded additional funds to complete the series.

On or about March 6, 2020, Netflix sent Rinsch’s production company $11 million. The defendant transferred almost all those funds from the company to personal accounts he controlled and engaged in trading in different securities using those funds.

In just a handful of months, Rinsch had lost about 50% of the $11 million, according to prosecutors. The filmmaker then transferred the rest of the money into the cryptocurrency market. Later, he transferred the earnings into a personal bank account.

From there, it has been alleged that Rinsch spent approximately $10 million on personal expenses and luxury items, including credit card bills, attorneys, furniture and antiques, Rolls-Royces, Ferrari and clothes, among others.

Carl Rinsch indicted: Netflix series that did not air

Carl Rinsch had an initial court hearing on Tuesday. He appeared in a federal courtroom and did not enter a plea. In January 2018, the filmmaker pitched the series to Netflix. Financially supported by Keanu Reeves, Rinsch had already shot multiple episodes and a trailer.

The streaming platform had agreed to put in $44 million to acquire the series and produce the first season. Reports suggest a schedule also had been made that called for multiple months of filming across the globe. But things soon started going beyond the budget.

Netflix paid an additional $11 million to support the project, as already mentioned. But the pandemic next came, halting production at a global scale. Things started going in a different direction as Rinsch and the team from Netflix met in 2020 for an update.