Director Carl Rinsch Arrested for Fraud

Carl Rinsch, director of the 2013 film 47 Ronin, was arrested on Tuesday in West Hollywood. He faces charges of wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly misappropriating $11 million from a prominent streaming platform, reportedly Netflix.

Prosecutors allege that Rinsch solicited extra funding in 2020 for his sci-fi series White Horse, but instead transferred the funds to personal accounts for trading securities. His production company had already received $44 million before this funding request.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated, “Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating. But that was fiction.”

By late April 2020, Rinsch reportedly lost more than half of the funds through risky investments, including highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading, having engaged in trading an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 index. The indictment notes that he used the funds to speculate on cryptocurrency, which eventually yielded profits.

Rinsch allegedly spent his gains extravagantly: $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, $3.7 million on furniture and antiques, $652,000 on luxury watches and clothing, $638,000 on two mattresses, and $295,000 on luxury bedding.

Earlier reports claimed Rinsch liquidated a $4 million Dogecoin position and turned it into $27 million by May 2021. He allegedly used Kraken for purchasing crypto, funded by transfers from Schwab Bank.

Despite receiving substantial funding, prosecutors assert that Rinsch never delivered the completed television show to Netflix and did not return the money, having only finished six short-form episodes.

Discovery materials indicated he spent $1.1 million on lawyers to sue the streaming company for more funds and for his divorce proceedings.

If convicted of wire fraud, Rinsch could face up to 20 years in prison, and the money laundering charge carries an additional maximum of 20 years. Each of five counts related to engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property carries up to 10 years, which could lead to a total of 90 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair