Hollywood director arrested on charges of swindling Netflix
The company logo and view of Netflix headquarters in Los Gatos, Calif. Image: AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez
NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
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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.
‘Failed’ investments
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.
The filmmaker then dumped the rest of the money into the cryptocurrency market, which proved to be a profitable move, with Rinsch eventually transferring the earnings into a personal bank account, according to an indictment.
From there, Rinsch spent about $10 million on personal expenses and luxury items in a spending spree that, according to prosecutors, included about $1.8 million on credit card bills; $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix for more money; $3.7 million on furniture and antiques; $2.4 million for five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari; and $652,000 on watches and clothes.
Rinsch, 47, was arrested in West Hollywood and is set to appear in a federal court in California later Tuesday, authorities said. His indictment was filed in New York.
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