Netflix Scam: Director Carl Rinsch Found Guilty of Stealing Millions Over Unfinished Series

A New York jury has found director Carl Rinsch guilty of defrauding Netflix out of more than $11 million over a sci-fi series that was never completed. The trial, held in a Manhattan federal courtroom, lasted less than two weeks. Rinsch, best known for directing 47 Ronin, faced charges including wire fraud and money laundering.

“Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton after the verdict. “Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”

Rinsch pleaded not guilty and even testified on his own behalf during the trial. He claimed that the money he received from Netflix, in addition to tens of millions previously obtained for the unfinished series White Horse, later renamed Conquest, was used to cover his own investment in the project.

He also suggested that some footage he had already shot could have been used to secure a second season from the streaming service.

The jury rejected his defense, even with testimony from former Netflix executives Cindy Holland and Peter Friedlander. According to prosecutors, Rinsch “knowingly having devised and intending to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and for obtaining money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses.”

Rinsch was charged with one count of wire fraud, carrying up to 20 years in prison; one count of money laundering, also up to 20 years; and five counts of conducting transactions with money obtained from unlawful activity, each carrying up to 10 years. He had been out on a $100,000 bond since his indictment in March.

Netflix had no comment on the verdict when contacted by Deadline. The streaming company initially invested over $44 million in the project, later approving an additional $11 million in 2020 for production costs.

By 2021, the series was canceled with only a few teaser clips completed, and Netflix wrote off over $55 million. In 2024, the company won a $12 million arbitration ruling against Rinsch, who had claimed he was owed $14 million. He has yet to repay any of the funds.

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