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Hollywood director charged with stealing $11M from streaming deal, feds say
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 19, 2025
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John Sciulli/Getty Images for Team One, Saatchi LA
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 19, 2025
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Federal prosecutors in New York charged Carl Erik Rinsch, a Hollywood director, with fraud, accusing him of misusing $11 million from a major streaming service that was intended to fund a science-fiction TV show.
Rinsch, 47, was arrested Tuesday in West Hollywood and was expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles before being transferred to New York. Prosecutors alleged he took money meant for his show, "White Horse," and instead spent it on luxury cars, high-end furniture, cryptocurrency trading and legal fees.
According to the indictment, the streaming service — reported by the New York Times to be Netflix — first paid Rinsch $44 million between 2018 and 2019 to produce the show. In early 2020, the streaming service agreed to pay another $11 million, with Rinsch claiming the funds were needed to complete production, authorities said.
Instead of using the money for the show, prosecutors said Rinsch moved the funds through personal bank accounts, put them into risky stock market bets and lost more than half in a matter of weeks. He then allegedly used what remained to buy cryptocurrency, profiting from those trades and spending millions on personal luxuries.
Court documents showed the purchases included $2.4 million on luxury cars, including five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, nearly $4 million on furniture and antiques and $600,000 on mattresses and bedding. He also allegedly spent more than $1 million on legal fees — including an attempt to sue the streaming company for even more money — and covered luxury hotel stays and designer purchases, officials said.
“As alleged, Carl Erik Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating," U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement. "But that was fiction. Rinsch instead allegedly used the funds on personal expenses and investments, including highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading."
Authorities said Rinsch faces one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions using criminal proceeds. If convicted, he could face up to 90 years in prison, federal officials said.
Attorney information for Rinsch was not immediately available. Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division.
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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