Director Carl Rinsch jailed 30 months for defrauding Netflix of $11 million

Carl Rinsch, director of "47 Ronin," was sentenced to 30 months for misspending $11m Netflix paid him to produce a sci-fi series.

'47 Ronin' director gets 30 months for Netflix fraud, ordered to forfeit $11m

Carl Rinsch, the American director behind the 2013 film "47 Ronin," was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison after defrauding Netflix of $11 million, prosecutors in New York announced, according to the Jamaica Observer.

Rinsch was convicted last year of misusing funds the streaming platform paid him in 2020 to produce a science fiction series called "White Horse." Rather than financing the show, he placed risky bets on speculative stock options and cryptocurrency, and spent millions on personal luxury goods, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said in a statement.

Purchases attributed to Rinsch included designer clothing and furniture, a red Ferrari, and five Rolls-Royces.

Beyond the 30-month prison term, Rinsch, 48, was ordered to forfeit the full $11 million. His defence lawyers had urged the judge to show leniency, arguing the misuse of funds occurred under intense professional pressure and during what they described as an "incredibly contentious divorce."

Netflix was not named by prosecutors in court, though Rinsch had previously been reported to be in a dispute with the company over the planned series — initially titled "White Horse" and later renamed "Conquest." Court documents described the show as centring on a scientist who creates a group of powerful clones "banished to a walled area in a Brazilian city, where they began developing advanced technology and came into conflict with humans and each other."

Ahead of sentencing, actor Keanu Reeves — who starred in "47 Ronin" — wrote to the presiding judge requesting "leniency and mercy" for his former director, describing Rinsch as an "exceptional artist" who was prone to "self-sabotage."

Source: Jamaica Observer