A Hollywood director who stole $11m (£8.3m) from Netflix to fund a lavish lifestyle of Rolls-Royces, cryptocurrency and luxury mattresses has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Carl Erik Rinsch, 48, best known for the 2013 film *47 Ronin*, was convicted of federal fraud and money laundering last year after prosecutors proved he siphoned money meant for a science fiction series into his personal account.
“Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch sentenced to 2.5 years for defrauding Netflix of $11m.”
Netflix had given Rinsch roughly $55m for the show, initially titled *White Horse*, but prosecutors said he told them he needed an extra $11m to complete production. Instead of finishing the series, he transferred the money to a personal account, invested it in cryptocurrency and lost half within a couple of months. He also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars, including Rolls-Royces, and mattresses.
During a one-week trial in New York, several Netflix executives testified that they had only agreed to one season of the show, which Rinsch failed to deliver. Rinsch, in a rare move, took the stand in his own defence, claiming the situation was a misunderstanding and that he believed the money was meant to keep the show going during the pandemic.
Speaking in court before Judge Jay Rakoff issued the sentence, Rinsch apologised and said he accepted responsibility for his crimes. The judge also imposed three years of supervised release, ordered forfeiture of $11m and a $700 fine.
Rinsch faced up to 90 years in prison but was expected to receive a lighter sentence. The New York Times reported that friends and colleagues described him as growing increasingly erratic after signing the Netflix deal, and that he believed he could predict lightning strikes and volcanic eruptions.
“Today's sentence sends a deterrent message: Fraud will not be tolerated,” said US Attorney Jay Clayton in a statement.