Hollywood Director Found Guilty of Blowing $11 Million Netflix Budget on Crypto and Ferraris (decrypt.co) 43
Carl Rinsch, the director behind the 2013 Keanu Reeves film "47 Ronin," has been found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million that was meant to fund a science fiction series called "Conquest," which the streaming company ultimately cancelled in 2021 after Rinsch failed to meet any production milestones. A jury in the Southern District of New York convicted the 48-year-old on seven charges: one count each of wire fraud and money laundering, and five counts of transacting in illicitly obtained property.
Prosecutors alleged that Rinsch funneled the $11 million through multiple bank accounts into a personal brokerage account, lost more than half of it on securities within two months, and then began speculating on cryptocurrency. Court records show he also spent $2.4 million on a Ferrari and five Rolls Royces, $3.3 million on furniture and antiques, and $387,000 on a Swiss watch. Netflix has written off $55 million in total and has not recovered any funds. Rinsch faces up to 90 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on April 17, 2026.
Prosecutors alleged that Rinsch funneled the $11 million through multiple bank accounts into a personal brokerage account, lost more than half of it on securities within two months, and then began speculating on cryptocurrency. Court records show he also spent $2.4 million on a Ferrari and five Rolls Royces, $3.3 million on furniture and antiques, and $387,000 on a Swiss watch. Netflix has written off $55 million in total and has not recovered any funds. Rinsch faces up to 90 years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on April 17, 2026.
No sense (Score:2, Informative)
and $387,000 on a Swiss watch.
He would have gotten more functionality and style from a smartwatch.
Re:No sense (Score:4, Insightful)
He would have gotten more functionality and style from a smartwatch.
for a definition of style that only you subscribe to.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Wow why didn't you warn him of this massive cost savings?
Re: No sense (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
The smartwatch would be obsolete in 90 years when he gets out of prison.
Re: (Score:3)
The maximum sentence for any of the charges is 20 years.
In the US, sentencing guidelines require most sentences to be served concurrently. He would have had to do something exceptionally repugnant to get consecutive sentences, like stealing from little old ladies or kids' college funds. Here, he stole the money from the company he had a contract with, he stole only what they intentionally risked, and the theft doesn't put the company in any sort of existential danger. So any consecutive sentence would be ov
Re: (Score:2)
Now show me a smartwatch that gets more than 7 years of support.
Why steal? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
If you're wondering why Hollywood movies suck so much look at who is making them and who their parents are.
Never ask a man his salary, a woman her age or a Hollywood screenwriter why his parents' names are blue on Wikipedia.
Re: (Score:2)
It never ceases to amaze me that these morons somehow think they're going to get away with the dumbest frauds imaginable. Yeah, I know every criminal on the planet thinks that he's smarter than the police (and the majority of them are, or else crime wouldn't be a viable career choice), but do you really think you're smarter than mega-corporation accounting departments? Really? That's a whole new level of delusion.
Cocaine (Score:2)
Why do I feel like cocaine was involved in this somewhere?
Re: (Score:1)
Guy takes 11 million from some half trillion dollar company, straight to jail.
Some half trillion dollar company (or more) poisons a town, killing hundreds, slap on the wrist.
American justice.
Re: New category of crime (Score:2)
Netflix movie (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like he planned to double his money through some quick investments and then lost it all. Ironically, this would make a great Netflix movie.
Re: (Score:3)
Yep. "I can take this $11 million, turn it into $17 million really quick, then pocket the extra and make that series.". Then when the $11 million becomes $4 million the spiral begins.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like he planned to double his money through some quick investments and then lost it all. Ironically, this would make a great Netflix movie.
He should have just put 11$mill back and enjoyed the rest; I doubt anyone would b ethe wiser and he could have gone on and made the series. If it was a dud the studio would just have charge dthe loss to oteh rprojects.He thought he was too smart to lose and got greedy...
Re:Netflix movie (Score:4, Informative)
That wasn't possible. He lost a ton of money right out of the gate---half in 2 months.
His later losses were failed attempts to win it back.
Dude thought he was smarter than Wall Street. Now he's broke and in prison.
Re: (Score:2)
That wasn't possible. He lost a ton of money right out of the gate---half in 2 months.
His later losses were failed attempts to win it back.
Dude thought he was smarter than Wall Street. Now he's broke and in prison.
Yea, TFA was not clear on what happened earlier as to source of money
An earlier report claimed that the director had actually turned a $4 million investment in Dogecoin into $27 million, but had then proceeded to spend much of his profits on luxury goods.
Re: Netflix movie (Score:2)
I guarantee he is already negotiating movie rights to depict his story with Netflix.
Re:Netflix movie (Score:5, Interesting)
Sounds like he planned to double his money through some quick investments and then lost it all. Ironically, this would make a great Netflix movie.
There was a movie called Kill the Irishman, starring the late great Ray Stevenson, that had a similar plot point: Danny Greene borrows money from the Mob to start a restaurant. The courier tasked with delivering the cash decides to take it and buy heroin with it, re-sell it at a profit, and keep the difference for himself. Except the sellers are Feds in a honeypot scheme. The money is gone, the Mob demands Greene pay them back, he refuses, so the order goes out to "kill the Irishman".
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like he planned to double his money through some quick investments and then lost it all
Isn't that also illegal (fraud)?
But I suppose if you do make a big amount of $$, you are then able to payoff the right people to make the "illegal" part go away?
Re: (Score:2)
But ... (Score:1)
Re: But ... (Score:2)
Most def is already in the making. It will double as training video for fresh Netflix directors
Sora Sora Sora (Score:2)
Should have asked AI to make the movie for you and keep the money for yourself.
Bad summary (Score:2)
Warner has a studio with decades of experience (Score:2)
so that this type of 5h17 happens much, much less.
Maybe they can help Netflix with this type of Junk.
I expect a pardon... (Score:3)
If it is criminal activity, I expect that Donald Trump will push for a pardon. Drug dealers with money get pardoned for example.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like he already blew most of the money, there isn't enough left to buy a pardon.
But did he... (Score:2)
Gambling addiction (Score:2)
As someone with no experience or qualifications, it sounds to me like he had a gambling addiction. He actually made a substantial profit on Dogecoin, but, instead of getting out then, he spent the money and gambled more.
blow it (Score:2)
He didn't blow it, he embezzled it. You don't go to prison for blowing.
Re: (Score:2)
People go to prison for blow or blowing all the time.
However, the thing you missed is that many of the charges are for transacting in illicitly obtained property. Those charges are directly related to blowing the money. The money laundering charge is also related to the manner in which he blew the money. Only one of the seven charges was for the embezzling, the other 6 were because he blew it. If he'd just put the money under his mattress he'd have only had the one charge, they'd have recovered the money, a
Simple Strategy (Score:3)
1) Obtain massive amount of money that you do not own - whether by grant, loan, or in this case payment for a movie.
2) Look at 'gambling/investment' realize you could theoretically double your money, and come up with a 'brilliant' idea.
3) If it works, keep the secret profit and use the money for what you claimed you were going to do it. If not, get caught and go to jail.
4) Repeat until you get caught and go to jail.
Hollywood Norm (Score:2)
Now if they'd had blown 11 million of the film's budget on illicit drugs and exotic cars, then it would be "normal" for Hollywood. ;-)
steep sentence (Score:1)
Show biz accounting (Score:2)
In related news, Netflix turns a failed $11 million investment into a $55 million tax loss.
Bialystock and Bloom have nothing on Netflix.