Carl Rinsch gets 30 months for spending Netflix's $11M on Dogecoin

Carl Rinsch, the director of "47 Ronin," was sentenced Monday to 30 months in federal prison after he admitted to defrauding Netflix of $11 million and funneling the money into Dogecoin, stock options and luxury goods.

"The sentence should be sufficient but no more than necessary," US District Judge Jed Rakoff said in Manhattan federal court, halving the 60-month term prosecutors had sought. "This is another human being, and for all his issues, needs to be considered as a human being."

Rinsch, 48, told Netflix in 2020 he needed the additional funds to finish a sci-fi series called "White Horse," also known as "Conquest." Instead, prosecutors said, he moved the money into a personal brokerage account and lost roughly half of it on failed stock-option bets within two months. He then put the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market, including Dogecoin, netting some profit before embarking on a spending spree that included five Rolls-Royces, a red Ferrari, $652,000 worth of watches and clothes, and $638,000 on two mattresses.

The case highlights the risks of unmonitored production financing in Hollywood and the ease with which funds can be diverted into speculative crypto markets. Netflix had initially paid Rinsch about $44 million for 13 short episodes of the series, then provided the additional $11 million after he said he needed more money to wrap production. Filming never resumed. Rakoff ordered Rinsch to pay $11 million in restitution and participate in outpatient mental health treatment, and to surrender to prison by Sept. 1. His attorney, Daniel McGuinness, said he plans to appeal.

Keanu Reeves, who starred in "47 Ronin," submitted a character letter describing an intervention in 2019 to get Rinsch professional mental health care, which the director rejected at the time. "I believe circumstances arose where his mental health was compromised by misuse of medications and perhaps other issues, which amplified the acts of his self-sabotage and grandiosity," Reeves wrote. Prosecutors argued that Rinsch had "every possible advantage" including family money and famous friends, and that his motive "was naked greed."

Rakoff acknowledged the difficulty of recovering the stolen funds, joking that he would not recommend Rinsch "keep investing in cryptocurrency — it's just a market for gambling." The judge said Rinsch's purchase of five Rolls-Royces suggested "someone who has a manic state of mind beyond simple greed," though he added that the director "chose to do this and covered it up for years."

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.