White Horse: Director Carl Erik Rinsch convicted of scamming Netflix out of £8m for sci-fi show that was never finished
A Hollywood director went on a spending spree buying Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari - using Netflix’s payment for a show that was never made.
Carl Erik Rinsch has now been convicted of scamming Netflix out of $11m (£8m) after the lavish purchases which included about a million dollars (£740,000) in mattresses and luxury bedding.
Rinsch, best known for directing Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges, according to court records and a spokesperson for federal prosecutors in New York.
In a statement, his lawyer Benjamin Zeman said the verdict 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 largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud”.
Prosecutors said Netflix initially paid Rinsch about $44m (£32m) for an unfinished sci-fi show called White Horse, and then sent over another $11m after he said he needed additional funding to wrap up the production.
Instead of putting the money towards the show, Rinsch steered the cash to a personal account where he made a series of failed investments, losing around half of the $11m in a couple of months, according to prosecutors.
He put the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market, netting some profit, then deposited the money into his own bank account.
Then came the lavish purchases, prosecutors said, with Rinsch buying five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari, along with $652,000 (£486,000) on watches and clothes.
He also bought two mattresses for about $638,000 (£476,000) and spent another $295,000 (£220,000) on luxury bedding and linens.
He used some of the money to pay off about $1.8m (£1.3m) in credit card bills, prosecutors added. Rinsch never finished the show. His sentencing date is set for April.
Netflix declined to comment.