Director Carl Erik Rinsch, best known for 47 Ronin, has been arrested on charges of wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly misusing $11 million from Netflix meant for his sci-fi series White Horse.
Prosecutors claim that Netflix initially paid Rinsch $44 million but later provided an additional $11 million for project completion. Instead, Rinsch allegedly invested the funds in a brokerage account, losing half in failed trades before shifting the rest into cryptocurrency, which later turned profitable.
Rather than using the recovered money for production, Rinsch reportedly spent around $10 million on extravagant purchases, including five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, luxury furniture, antiques, and legal fees to sue Netflix for more money.
Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood and appeared in a Los Angeles court in shackles. He has not yet entered a plea and was released on a $100,000 bond. His next court appearance will be in New York, where his indictment was filed.
Netflix has declined to comment on the case.
