Hollywood director Carl Rinsch was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after a Manhattan court found he defrauded Netflix of $11 million and spent the funds on cryptocurrencies, risky stock trades and luxury items. Rinsch, known for directing the 2013 film 47 Ronin, was convicted in December on charges including wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors said Rinsch solicited the $11 million from a subscription streaming service by falsely representing the money would be used to complete a television series he was creating. Instead, he placed large speculative bets in options and cryptocurrencies and used millions for personal expenses, according to the indictment and the U.S. Attorney’s office. The sentencing followed roughly a 15-month legal process that began with Rinsch’s arrest in March 2025.
Court filings and reporting show that Netflix initially advanced $44 million for Rinsch’s sci-fi project, originally titled White Horse and later renamed Conquest. When he requested additional funds to finish the show, the company wired $11 million in March 2020. Rinsch used about $10.5 million of that new funding to trade options on pharmaceutical stocks and the S&P 500, losing roughly half within weeks. He then transferred more than $4 million to the Kraken crypto exchange and invested heavily in Dogecoin. That Dogecoin position was later liquidated in May 2021 for an amount reported to be around $27 million.
According to prosecutors, Rinsch spent roughly $10 million of the proceeds on personal items, including credit card payments, legal fees for litigation against the streaming company, furniture and antiques, several luxury cars and high-end watches and clothing. The indictment says Rinsch never completed the series or returned the funds he had been given to produce it.
Rinsch faced up to 90 years in prison across seven counts, though the actual charges carrying statutory maximums included 20 years each for wire fraud and money laundering and up to 10 years for related monetary transaction counts. Prosecutors asked for a five-year sentence at mid-June sentencing, while the defense urged no prison time and presented claims that Rinsch suffered from mental health issues; friends and family, and actor Keanu Reeves, submitted letters on his behalf.
The court ultimately ordered 30 months in custody, followed by three years of supervised release. Rinsch was also ordered to forfeit $11 million and to pay mandatory special assessments. The U.S. Attorney’s office said the sentence underscores that fraud will not be tolerated.