47 Ronin director Carl Erik Rinsch has been found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million for a show that never materialized, while he used the money for lavish purchases, including a Ferrari, several Rolls-Royces and luxury bedding, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said.
Rinsch was found guilty following a one-week trial. He was convicted of one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering — each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Thursday.
He was also found guilty of 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.
The director began filming White Horse around 2017, which follows a scientist who creates a human-like species that turns against its creators, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Netflix had initially paid Rinsch about $44 million between 2018 and 2019 for an unfinished sci-fi series, and then sent another $11 million around March 6, 2020, after he said he needed additional funding to wrap up the production.
Instead of putting the money toward the show, Rinsch transferred the cash into a “number of different bank accounts before consolidating them in a personal brokerage account,” according to prosecutors.
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Rinsch then used those funds to make a number of personal and speculative purchases. He made a series of failed investments, losing around half of the $11 million in a couple of months, prosecutors said.
He then put the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market and “on personal expenses and luxury items, including at least $1.7 million on credit card bills; at least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses; at least $387,000 on a Swiss watch; and at least $2.4 million on five Rolls Royces and a red Ferrari,” according to prosecutors.
“Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”
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In a statement to The New York Times, Rinsch’s lawyer, Benjamin Zeman, said he disagreed with the verdict.
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“I fear that this could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors, in this case, one of the largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud,” Zeman said.
Netflix said they had no comment when contacted by Global News about Rinsch’s conviction.
Rinsch was charged in March “for engaging in a scheme to defraud a subscription video on-demand streaming service” after failing to complete the production of White Horse.
“Carl Erik Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating. But that was fiction. Rinsch instead allegedly used the funds on personal expenses and investments, including highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading,” acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in March.
“Rinsch’s arrest is a reminder that this Office and our partners at the FBI remain vigilant in the fight against fraud and will bring those who cheat and steal to justice,” Podolsky added.
A sentencing hearing for Rinsch has been set for April 17, 2026.
—With files from The Associated Press
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