CRIME BINGE

Netflix Director Scammed Millions for Luxury Spending Spree

The one-time Keanu Reeves collaborator splurged on cars and crypto.

Carl Erik Rinsch may not be making a new film anytime soon. The director, 48, was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions on Thursday after blowing $11 million from Netflix on a massive spending spree. Rinsch spent the millions on cryptocurrency, luxury hotels, multiple Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, luxury bedding and furniture, renting a home in Spain, and paying off his credit card bill. Rinsch was hired by Netflix in 2018 to develop a 12-episode sci-fi series called Conquest or White Horse. His biggest movie before that was 2013’s 47 Ronin, a box office flop which starred Keanu Reeves. Rinsch got $44 million for the original contract then asked for $11 million two years later, most of which he transferred to his personal bank account. In total, Netflix wrote off $55 million from the project, Deadline reported. Court papers said Netflix executives became suspicious in June 2020 because of a meeting on the show’s progress where Rinsch spouted “theories he had been developing about COVID, the universe, interconnectivity, genders, God, higher callings and reproduction.” He was convicted by a jury at federal court in Manhattan and faces a maximum of 90 years in prison. He is still in civil litigation with Netflix. His attorney told the New York Times Thursday that the conviction was “incorrect” and “could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes.”