Director Carl Rinsch Found Guilty of Defrauding Netflix Out of $11 Million

The "47 Ronin" filmmaker was convicted after spending millions on antiques and luxury cars, rather than on a since-cancelled sci-fi series for the streamer.

After dominating headlines this past week in its bid for Warner Bros., Netflix is at the center of another controversy — but, this time, at the favorable end of a lawsuit.

After just two weeks of arguments, “47 Ronin” director Carl Rinsch was found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million on Thursday. According to Business Insider, the jury deliberated for less than five hours before finding Rinsch guilty on all seven counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, and multiple counts of illegal money transmission. The filmmaker now faces up to 90 years in prison, though the trial judge, Jed Rakoff — who has heard other high-profile entertainment cases, including one over “Top Gun: Maverick” IP — is expected to hand down a more lenient sentence.

The charges were brought against Rinsch by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, in relation to a never-executed Netflix series tentatively titled “White Horse.” According to various sources, Rinsch began filming “White Horse,” later renamed “Conquest,” in 2017, using his own money and funds from various production companies. The series — described as a sci-fi epic centered on a humanoid species that turns against its creators — was then pitched to studios for additional funding, eventually receiving an initial $44 million investment from Netflix.  

In 2020, Rinsch requested additional money from the streamer to complete the series and was given $11 million. He wired the money to his personal brokerage account, lost half of it on seven-figure options trades, and then turned a profit on cryptocurrency investments, kicking off a spending spree.  

Quoting the indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, The Hollywood Reporter said on Thursday that, out of a total $10 million profit, Rinsch “spent roughly $3.8 million on furniture and antiques, including nearly $1 million on two mattresses and linens, $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, and $650,000 on watches, among other things.” 

During the trial, the defense argued that the $11 million payment was never earmarked for a specific purpose, and that it was Rinsch’s understanding that the money was intended to pay him back for keeping the project afloat via “soft pre-production” on a second season. Rinsch testified to this point, but did not convince jurors that the matter was a misunderstanding that should be handled as a contract dispute — and that he had had reason to believe the funds could be used at his discretion. 

Netflix killed “White Horse” in 2021 after Rinsch failed to produce more than a few teasers, according to Deadline. That year, the company wrote off its total $55 million investment in the project as a loss. And in 2024, Netflix was awarded nearly $12 million following civil arbitration over Rinsch’s claim that the company owed him $14 million — though, reportedly, the media giant hasn’t received compensation.