Netflix Paid Director Millions to Finish a Show. He Used Money to Invest in Crypto and Sued the Media Company for More
The disgraced director was charged with wire fraud and money laundering
The director of "47 Ronin," an action film starring Keanu Reeves, was arrested for allegedly accepting $11 million from Netflix to finish a show and using it to buy luxury items, cryptocurrency and a lawyer to sue the streaming giant for more money.
The media company bought director Carl Erik Rinsch's unfinished show "White Horse" for $44 million, and, when he asked for another $11 million to complete the series, Netflix sent it. While Rinsch used some of the money to finish the show, most of it was transferred to his personal brokerage account, according to reporting by AP News.
The disgraced director ended up losing about half of the money in two months after several failed investments. Rinsch turned his bad luck around by investing in cryptocurrency, which proved fruitful.
Rinsch went on to spend about $10 million on personal expenses and luxury items, including $3.8 million on furniture and antiques, $2.4 million on multiple Rolls-Royce vehicles and a Ferrari, and $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix for more money, AP News reported.
The 47-year-old director was arrested at his West Hollywood home on Tuesday and charged with wire fraud and money laundering. He was released after posting a $100,000 bond and will next appear in court in New York, where the indictment was filed.
Netflix declined to comment, and, according to Rinsch's attorney, "the allegations in this case are purely financial."
