Director Rinsch convicted of scamming £8m from Netflix for lavish spending spree
Rinsch is best known for directing Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin.
A Hollywood director has been convicted of scamming Netflix out of 11 million dollars (£8 million) for a show that never materialised.
Carl Erik Rinsch instead used the cash for lavish purchases including several Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari and about a million dollars (£740,000) in mattresses and luxury bedding.
Rinsch, best known for directing Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering and other charges, according to court records and a spokesperson for federal prosecutors in New York.
In a statement, his lawyer Benjamin Zeman said 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”.
Prosecutors said Netflix initially paid Rinsch about 44 million dollars (£32 million) for an unfinished sci-fi show called White Horse, and then sent over another 11 million dollars after he said he needed additional funding to wrap up the production.
Instead of putting the money towards the show, Rinsch steered the cash to a personal account where he made a series of failed investments, losing around half of the 11 million dollars in a couple of months, according to prosecutors.
He put the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market, netting some profit, then deposited the money into his own bank account.
Then came the lavish purchases, prosecutors said, with Rinsch buying five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari, along with 652,000 dollars (£486,000) on watches and clothes.
He also bought two mattresses for about 638,000 dollars (£476,000) and spent another 295,000 dollars (£220,000) on luxury bedding and linens.
He used some of the money to pay off about 1.8 million dollars (£1.3 million) in credit card bills, prosecutors added.
Rinsch never finished the show. His sentencing date is set for April.
Netflix declined to comment.
