Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after being convicted of defrauding Netflix of $11 million (£8.3 million) that was intended to finance an unfinished science fiction television series.
The 48-year-old filmmaker, best known for directing the 47 Ronin, was found guilty of federal fraud and money laundering charges linked to the misuse of company funds.
US District Judge Jay Rakoff also ordered Rinsch to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. In addition, he was instructed to forfeit $11 million and pay a $700 fine.
Before the sentence was delivered, Rinsch addressed the court and apologised for his actions, telling the judge that he accepted responsibility for his crimes.
In a statement following the sentencing, US Attorney Jay Clayton said the punishment should serve as a warning that fraudulent conduct would not be tolerated.
According to prosecutors, Netflix provided approximately $55 million to Rinsch for the production of an ambitious science fiction series that was initially titled White Horse. Included in that amount was an additional $11 million that the director claimed was necessary to complete the project.
Instead of using the funds to finish the series, prosecutors said Rinsch transferred the money into a personal bank account and began making speculative investments. Within a few months, he reportedly lost nearly half of the money.
Authorities said the director also invested heavily in cryptocurrency and used company funds to purchase luxury items, including several Rolls-Royce vehicles and mattresses reportedly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
During the week-long trial in New York, several Netflix executives testified that the streaming company had only approved one season of the series and that Rinsch ultimately failed to deliver any completed episodes.
In an unusual move for a criminal defendant, Rinsch took the witness stand in his own defence. He argued that the situation had been misunderstood and claimed he believed the funds were intended to keep the production alive during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, prosecutors maintained that the money was deliberately misappropriated for personal gain.
The case also revealed concerns about Rinsch’s behaviour during the period following his agreement with Netflix. According to reports from The New York Times, friends and colleagues described the director as increasingly erratic, claiming he believed he could predict natural disasters such as lightning strikes and volcanic eruptions.
The newspaper also reported that Rinsch made unusual claims about a secret mechanism for transmitting Covid-19.
Despite facing a maximum sentence of up to 90 years in prison, legal observers had anticipated that the director would receive a significantly lighter punishment. The two-and-a-half-year sentence now brings to a close one of Hollywood’s most unusual fraud cases involving a major streaming company.
