Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch charged with defrauding Netflix out of $11 million

CBS News —- A Hollywood writer-director was arrested Tuesday on charges that he swindled $11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead steering the cash toward cryptocurrency investments and a series of lavish purchases that included a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari.

Carl Erik Rinsch, perhaps best known for directing the film “47 Ronin,” has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering over what federal prosecutors allege was a scheme to defraud the streaming giant.

It is unclear if Rinsch has hired an attorney. Netflix declined to comment.

Prosecutors said Netflix had initially paid about $44 million to purchase an unfinished show called “White Horse” from Rinsch, but eventually doled out another $11 million after he said he needed the additional cash to complete the show.

Rather than using the extra money to wrap up production, Rinsch quietly transferred the money to a personal brokerage account, where he made a series of failed investments that lost about half of the $11 million in two months, according to prosecutors.

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