The Hollywood director behind “47 Ronin,” Carl Erik Rinsch, has been convicted by a federal jury in New York on Thursday of scamming Netflix out of $11 million.
Prosecutors said the money was meant to help complete a sci-fi series called “White Horse,” but Rinsch instead diverted the funds for personal spending and risky investments.
According to prosecutors, Netflix had already paid him about $44 million for the unfinished project. When Rinsch requested an additional $11 million to wrap up production, the company released the funds.
However, investigators said he moved that money into a personal account, where he quickly lost nearly half through failed investments before turning to cryptocurrency. He made some gains there, but then transferred the proceeds into his own bank account.
Prosecutors told the court that Rinsch later spent the money on luxury purchases, including several Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, expensive watches and clothes.
According to the prosecutors, Rinsch also bought two mattresses for about $638,000 and added nearly $300,000 in high-end bedding, while using some of the funds to clear about $1.8 million in credit card debt.
Meanwhile, the show was never completed.
In a statement, Rinsch’s attorney, Benjamin Zeman, said he thought the verdict was wrong and “could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors, in this case one of the largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud.”
According to the CNN, Rinsch is scheduled to be sentenced in April while Netflix declined to comment.
