Director Carl Erik Rinsch was indicted by federal prosecutors on Tuesday for defrauding Netflix out of $11 million, money he received to produce a science fiction TV series but instead spent on personal investments and property.
According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Rinsch has been charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and five counts of engaging in a monetary transaction in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
Rinsch made his reputation making commercials with striking visuals and went on to direct the 2013 Keanu Reeves action film “47 Ronin,” though he was removed from that project during production after the budget ballooned to $225 million. In 2018 Netflix greenlit a sci-fi series from Rinsch, “Conquest” which was never completed and eventually canceled.
Netflix ultimately took a write-off of $55 million for the aborted production.
Netflix and Rinsch went into arbitration over expenses related to the production, and in 2024 the arbitrator ruled Rinsch owed the company $12 million, alleging he spent a significant amount of that money on expensive cars and furniture, as well as on personal investments in the stock market and in cryptocurrency, the latter of which netted $27 million in profit once he cashed out.
Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood on Tuesday.
In a statement that didn’t mention Netflix by name, 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.”
