Director Karl Rinsch, known for the movie «47 Ronin» starring Keanu Reeves, is accused of fraud and embezzlement from an unfinished Netflix sci-fi series.
The series Rinsch was working on was called White Horse and told the story of a scientist who invented a new humanoid species that turned against its creator. Since 2017, the director has shot six short episodes using his own money and investments, and subsequently submitted proposals to other studios to find funding to complete it.
In the end, Netflix sent him $11 million, which was supposed to be used to edit the episodes and pay the team, among other things, but the prosecutor notes that the director immediately transferred the funds to his brokerage account — he lost half of it in less than 2 months, and used the rest to buy cryptocurrency. Interestingly, Rinsch did make good money on his balance, but he spent it not on the series, but on buying five Rolls-Royces, luxury furniture, and paying for lawyers’ services during his divorce.
Now the director is facing all the charges, which, in addition to fraud, include money laundering and participation in illegal transactions, faces up to 90 years in prison.
Interestingly, despite the fact that Rinsch never finished the series, he decided to get some more money from Netflix and sued the streaming service, accusing it of not paying the $14 million promised under the contract. Last year, a judge ruled that he owed the company almost $9 million.
If the story sounds familiar, you’re not mistaken: two years ago, The New York Times reported on it, albeit in an article the amount and title of the series were differentwhile the court case eventually revealed the real details.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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