Director found guilty of scamming Netflix out of $11 million

Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch was convicted of scamming $11 million from Netflix to spend on luxury items, including five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, as reported earlier by Deadline. A New York jury found Rinsch guilty of several charges on Thursday, including fraud and money laundering.

Rinsch, who’s known for directing 47 Ronin, was charged with fraud in March after prosecutors say he stole the $11 million he received from Netflix to complete an upcoming sci-fi series called White Horse (later renamed Conquest). The series followed a “genius who invents a humanlike species called the Organic Intelligent,” and it all goes very wrong, according to The New York Times.

Instead of putting the money toward finishing the series, prosecutors say he used the funds to make a series of investments, leading him to lose “more than half” of those funds in less than two months. He then spent the rest of his money on investing in cryptocurrency and lavish items, including “at least $3.3 million furniture, antiques, and mattresses; at least $387,000 on a Swiss watch; and at least $2.4 million on five Rolls Royces and a red Ferrari.”

Rinsch is set to be sentenced on April 17th, 2026.