Latest news with #CarlErikRinsch
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Director Carl Rinsch Pleads Not Guilty to Charges in $11 Million Netflix Swindle
Carl Erik Rinsch, the director accused of blowing $11 million of Netflix's money on cars, mattresses, and cryptocurrency, has pleaded not guilty to charges including fraud and money laundering. Rinsch was arrested in March in connection with the alleged misappropriation of the streaming service's funds; a seven-count grand jury indictment detailed the '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.' More from Rolling Stone Sarah Silverman's Comedy Special About Parents' Death Headed to Netflix AI Tries to Kill Issa Rae and Rashida Jones Is a Living Espresso Ad in 'Black Mirror' Trailer Why 'Adolescence' Is Sparking Conversations About Incel Dread Online Netflix hired Rinsch to write and direct a sci-fi series called White Horse (later renamed Conquest) in 2018, but despite Netflix pouring $55 million into the project, the director never delivered a single episode. Rinsch later asked Netflix for an additional $11 million in funding, which — a New York Times report and later the indictment alleged — he used to gamble on the stock market, stay in fancy hotels, and purchase luxury goods. No episodes of Conquest were ever produced. A Sept. 8 trial date was set for Rinsch, who remains free on $100,000 bail, Variety reports. While Rinsch initially faced up to 90 years in prison if convicted on all seven counts, the Manhattan court judge said Thursday that Rinsch would only face up to 20 years if found guilty, though even a sentence that severe is 'wholly irrational.' 'I don't pay much attention to the [sentencing] guidelines,' the judge said. Rinsch also faces a civil trial brought forth by Netflix, which is seeking to recoup some of the $11 million the director allegedly misappropriated; Rinsch has said he is broke, and that his cryptocurrency balance plunged from $26.7 million in May 2021 to $68,000 in May 2023. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix Wants $11 Million Back From Director Carl Rinsch, Who Allegedly Spent Lavishly on Cars, Bedding and a $28,000 Sofa
Netflix wants its money back. Five years after wiring $11 million to director Carl Erik Rinsch for a sci-fi series that never got made, the streamer is asking for a return on those funds. More from Variety Chicago's Doc10 Lineup Includes Sundance Hits 'The Perfect Neighbor' and 'Predators' (EXCLUSIVE) 'Black Warrant' Team Unpacks Netflix Series Success at Cinevesture Film Festival 'The Residence' Team on Casting Kylie Minogue, Honoring the Late Andre Braugher and How 'Knives Out' Rescucitated the Whodunit Genre Rinsch, 47, was arrested last week on charges of fraud and money laundering for allegedly using the cash for lavish purchases, speculative investments and legal fees to sue Netflix. He is out on a $100,000 bond and due to be arraigned in federal court in New York on April 3. Later in April, Rinsch is due back in civil court in Los Angeles for a debtor's examination by Netflix's lawyers. The company has obtained an $11.8 million judgment and is attempting to locate assets it may be able to seize. In previous divorce proceedings, Rinsch has said that he is broke. Rinsch owes $420,000 in spousal support to his wife, Gabriela, according to a recent filing from her attorneys. In January 2024, Rinsch told the court is suffering 'severe financial distress.' 'Over the past four years, in lieu of a salary, I have been forced to use company funds for living expenses,' he wrote. He said that his company's revenue had dwindled to nothing, and that he had to liquidate assets and borrow $150,000 from his family to stay afloat. 'My monthly income is zero,' he wrote. 'I have been forced to focus all my efforts on being a 'professional litigant.'' Rinsch, who is from Los Angeles, was once an up-and-coming commercial director with backing from two powerful mentors. Under the tutelage of Ridley Scott, he made futuristic ads for Heineken, BMW and Mercedes. That led to a job directing '47 Ronin,' a samurai film starring Keanu Reeves. After creative turmoil, the film flopped, causing Universal to lose at least $120 million. But Rinsch picked up a key ally. Reeves would go on to invest in 'White Horse,' his short-form TV series about humanoid AI beings. According to a court filing, the project bounced around, starting at Annapurna, then attracting interest from director Rian Johnson, who was brought on to executive produce. Six episodes were shot, ranging from four to 10 minutes in length, with a plan for seven more. In early 2018, Netflix executives were invited to Reeves' house to review the script, and ultimately agreed to put $44 million into completing the project — renamed 'Conquest' — while buying out previous investors. Once production began in Brazil, Rinsch quickly went over budget, according to an arbitrator's ruling. The ruling states there were numerous other problems, including casting issues and allegations of harassment and abuse on set. After further filming in Uruguay and Hungary, production wrapped in December 2019. Prosecutors allege that Rinsch sought an additional $11 million to finish the first season, and then gambled the money on the stock market and on crypto. He is also accused of using the money to buy a fleet of Rolls Royces, luxury items and antique furniture. In late 2020, Netflix decided to write off the $55 million investment. When told that the streamer would no longer fund the project, Rinsch did not take it well, writing an email to a Netflix executive that began, 'Dear Coward,' according the arbitration ruling. 'Time to fess up,' he continued. Other such messages followed, leading some to conclude he had become mentally unstable, according to the ruling. At an arbitration hearing, Rinsch testified that this behavior was the result of his neurodiversity — specifically, autism spectrum disorder. 'Whatever's going on there, I can tell you it's not drug-induced,' he said. 'It's not mentally ill. It's exacerbating a different neurotype that most people might not be able to understand.' As of May 2021, Rinsch's crypto bets had left him with a balance of $26.7 million in his Kraken account, according to court filings. In September of that year, he bought a black Hästens Grand Vividus mattress — hand-made in Sweden, and reputedly the world's most expensive mattress — for $439,900. He also bought a white Hästens Vividus King for $210,400. Both were ordered in custom, extra-wide sizes, roughly seven feet square. Rinsch took delivery of one mattress, which he complained was too short. He then tried to cancel his order, asserting that he had become concerned about the 'provenance of horsehair materials' due to ethical concerns and allergies, according to a lawsuit he filed against the company. Hästens sought to charge him a $100,000 return fee. (Most of his suit was dismissed by a judge and the case was ultimately dropped.) In litigation with Netflix, Rinsch testified that he planned to use the mattresses in the second season of 'Conquest' — which Netflix had not ordered. The arbitrator noted that it is customary to rent props or find cheaper substitutes for luxury items. She added that the purchase was 'especially unnecessary' because in Rinsch's own storyboards for a 'palace scene,' the mattress would not have been visible. Around that time, Rinsch also bought $5.4 million worth of furniture, according to the arbitrator's ruling. In one instance, he agreed to buy 14 pieces by the Art Deco designer Jacques Adnet, including a $48,000 desk and cabinet, a $28,000 sofa, and some armchairs. After expressing interest in a larger purchase, he scaled back the order, citing 'financial setbacks.' 'While I could tell you of my woes and disappointment, in markets here and abroad, it makes no difference,' he wrote to the dealer in January 2022. He later sought the return of a $200,000 deposit, saying, 'Our production was the victim of a studio meltdown.' The dealer sued, and after a jury trial in Philadelphia in 2023, Rinsch was ordered to pay a balance of $68,200. Rinsch's Kraken account was down to $1.5 million to $1.8 million by April 2022, according to his testimony in the divorce case. At a hearing in May, a judge raised a concern: 'Did you say, sir, that the crypto you acquired was from production funds?' 'Yes, sir,' Rinsch said. The judge seemed alarmed. 'Hold on a minute,' he said. 'Hold up. Hold up. So in the real world, people in your line of work either have or create an LLC, a loan-out corporation, a close corporation, an entity for the production. All of the money goes into an account held by that entity. Business purposes and business spending is segregated from personal spending. You know, business.' Rinsch replied: 'That's correct.' Prosecutors allege that Rinsch had transferred Netflix's money to a personal account and was rapidly spending it. He spent $1.8 million on credit cards, $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix and litigate his divorce case, and $652,000 on watches and clothing, according to the indictment. As of May 2023, he had $482,000 in a checking account. His Kraken balance was down to $68,000. He listed monthly expenses including $16,500 on rent and $3,500 on restaurants. The judge ordered him to pay $275,000 to cover his wife's legal fees and to pay for her forensic accountant. 'I don't have that money,' he told the court. 'What can I do? I have no representation here today. I am trying to survive here. I don't even know legally what I can do. Can I write something saying, 'I am sorry, here are my accounts?'' As the judge tried to explain that he couldn't give legal advice, Rinsch interjected: 'Nobody should laugh at me.' The judge noted that he had been paying significant legal expenses. 'You seem to be able to get it,' he said. 'There is no money,' Rinsch repeated. In January 2024, he asserted that the legal costs had left him virtually destitute. His only assets, he claimed, were some kitchen appliances, $5,000 in cash, $3,900 in a brokerage account, and a $110,000 pension through the Directors Guild of America that he is not yet eligible to receive. California had also hit him with tax liens totaling $68,000. His wife's attorneys noted that as of April 2024, he was living at the Laurel in West Hollywood, which is advertised as an 'ultra-luxury' apartment building, which they saw as evidence that he was maintaining his previous standard of living. Rinsch did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. Netflix declined to comment. Once Netflix obtained its $11.8 million judgment last August, the company's lawyers hired private investigators to try to track down any remaining assets. Netflix told a judge that it had to move quickly: 'Mr. Rinsch reportedly has a propensity to go on spending sprees.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'47 Ronin' director arrested on suspicion of bilking Netflix to the tune of $11 million
Carl Erik Rinsch, a director best known for helming the 2013 movie "47 Ronin," was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood on suspicion of defrauding Netflix to the tune of $11 million. The money, which was supposed to go toward finishing a TV show in which $44 million had already been invested, instead went into Rinsch's personal accounts, his personal spending and his personal gains and losses, according to a federal court indictment filed earlier this month in the Southern District of New York. Read more: Review: '47 Ronin' doesn't quite cut it as a samurai fantasy Rinsch "quickly transferred" the $11 million from the Rinsch Co. account, where it had been deposited March 6, 2020, by Netflix, through a number of additional accounts until about $10.5 million wound up weeks later in a personal brokerage account, according to the indictment. The director proceeded to lose more than half of that money in less than two months via risky investments in the stock market, the indictment says. All the while, the indictment alleges, Rinsch was telling Netflix that the show "White Horse" was "awesome and moving forward really well." Over the next couple of years, the director allegedly moved the remaining money into cryptocurrency and ultimately profited from crypto speculation. He then blew around $10 million, the indictment says, on five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, watches, clothing, luxury bedding and linens, credit card bills and attorneys to sue Netflix for more money and to work on his divorce. About $3.8 million was spent on furniture and antiques, including two mattresses that cost $638,000 total, the document said. The half-dozen cars cost a little over $2.4 million. "White Horse" was supposed to be a sci-fi series about superintelligent clones who get banished to Brazil, where they develop their own advanced technology and come into conflict "with humans and each other," the indictment says. The show was never completed. Read more: L.A. Crip leader turned gang interventionist ran 'mafia-like' enterprise, feds allege Rinsch, 47, was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood and appeared later in federal court wearing shackles and a turtleneck sweater over jeans. He was released later in the day after agreeing to post a $100,000 bond to guarantee his appearance in a New York federal court. He was not asked to enter a plea. He has been indicted on one count of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and four counts of engaging in monetary transactions related to illegal activity. A court date had not yet been assigned. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hollywood director charged with defrauding $11m from Netflix
A Hollywood director has been arrested and accused of using studio funds intended to complete a sci-fi series to buy luxury cars, cryptocurrency and fancy bedding for himself. Carl Erik Rinsch, 47, is charged with federal fraud and money laundering related to $11m (£8.5m) he was given by Netflix to create a series called White Horse. Mr Rinsch, who is best known for the 2013 film 47 Ronin, declined to enter a plea when appearing in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday. The indictment does not name Netflix, referring to a "subscription video on-demand streaming service", but Mr Rinsch's long-running dispute with Netflix over the failed series has been previously publicised in US media reports. Netflix has declined to comment on his arrest. Between 2018 to 2019, the streaming giant gave Mr Rinsch an initial budget of $44m to film the show, which depicts artificial human clones, but he allegedly never completed a single episode. In March 2020, Netflix sent him another $11m after he argued that the initial budget was "not sufficient", according to prosecutors. But instead of using the funds for the series, he allegedly transferred them to his personal bank accounts and used it to invest in several risky financial ventures, the US Justice Department said. "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," prosecutor Matthew Podolsky said in a statement on Tuesday. "But that was fiction." Only two months after receiving the $11m, about half of it had already been spent, the indictment says. While he "was in the process of losing" the money, Mr Rinsch allegedly informed Netflix that the show was "awesome and moving forward really well", according to the indictment. He allegedly used the remaining funds to speculate on cryptocurrency, and on personal expenses and luxury items for himself, including a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, court documents state. The spending spree also included $1.8m for credit card bills, $3.7m on furniture and antiques and $933,000 on mattresses and luxury bedding, the Justice Department states. The indictment also alleges that $1m of the cash was sent to lawyers to sue Netflix in hopes of receiving more funds, and for a divorce. A profile of the dispute published by the New York Times in 2023 reported that friends and colleagues had described Mr Rinsch of growing increasingly erratic shortly after he signed the Netflix deal. The newspaper reports that he believed he could predict lightning strikes and volcanic eruptions and knew about a "secret transmission mechanism" for Covid-19. According to the Associated Press, Mr Rinsch made an initial court appearance on Tuesday. When asked by the judge whether he had read the 12-page indictment, he reportedly responded, "Not cover to cover". He was released on a $100,000 bail, and he is expected to attend trial in New York at a later date. If found guilty, he faces 20 years in prison.
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Hollywood director charged with defrauding $11m from Netflix
A Hollywood director has been arrested and accused of using studio funds intended to complete a sci-fi series to buy luxury cars, cryptocurrency and fancy bedding for himself. Carl Erik Rinsch, 47, is charged with federal fraud and money laundering related to $11m (£8.5m) he was given by Netflix to create a series called White Rinsch, who is best known for the 2013 film 47 Ronin, declined to enter a plea when appearing in a Los Angeles court on indictment does not name Netflix, referring to a "subscription video on-demand streaming service", but Mr Rinsch's long-running dispute with Netflix over the failed series has been previously publicised in US media reports. Netflix has declined to comment on his 2018 to 2019, the streaming giant gave Mr Rinsch an initial budget of $44m to film the show, which depicts artificial human clones, but he allegedly never completed a single March 2020, Netflix sent him another $11m after he argued that the initial budget was "not sufficient", according to instead of using the funds for the series, he instead allegedly transferred it to his personal bank accounts and used it to invest in several risky financial ventures, the US Justice Department said. "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," prosecutor Matthew Podolsky said in a statement on Tuesday."But that was fiction."Only two months after receiving the $11m, about half of it had already been spent, the indictment he "was in the process of losing" the money, Mr Rinsch allegedly informed Netflix that the show was "awesome and moving forward really well", according to the allegedly used the remaining funds to speculate on cryptocurrency, and on personal expenses and luxury items for himself, including a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, court documents state. The spending spree also included $1.8m for credit card bills, $3.7m on furniture and antiques and $933,000 on mattresses and luxury bedding, the Justice Department states. The indictment also alleges that $1m of the cash was sent to lawyers to sue Netflix in hopes of receiving more funds, and for a divorce. A profile of the dispute published by the New York Times in 2023 reported that friends and colleagues had described Mr Rinsch of growing increasingly erratic shortly after he signed the Netflix newspaper reports that he believed he could predict lightning strikes and volcanic eruptions and knew about a "secret transmission mechanism" for to the Associated Press, Mr Rinsch made an initial court appearance on Tuesday. When asked by the judge whether he had read the 12-page indictment, he reportedly responded, "Not cover to cover".He was released on a $100,000 bail, and he is expected to attend trial in New York at a later date. If found guilty, he faces 20 years in prison.
