A Hollywood writer-director was taken into custody on Tuesday after allegedly embezzling $11 million from Netflix for a science fiction series that never aired.
Instead, the money was used to invest in cryptocurrencies and make a number of extravagant purchases, such as a Ferrari and a fleet of Rolls Coupes.
Carl Erik Rinsch, perhaps best known for directing the film “47 Ronin,” has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering over what federal authorities believe was a plot to defraud the streaming giant.
Whether Rinsch has a lawyer or not is unknown.
Prosecutors said that after Rinsch said he required the extra money to finish the show, Netflix provided an additional $11 million after having previously paid roughly $44 million to buy an incomplete series called “White Horse” from him.
Rinsch moved the $11 million into a personal brokerage account, according to the prosecution, where he made a string of bad transactions that caused him to lose over half of the money in two months.
Rinsch allegedly moved the leftover cash into the cryptocurrency market rather than giving them back or using them sensibly for manufacturing.
However, this was a profitable strategy. Eventually, he moved the bitcoin investments’ profits into his own bank account.
After that, Rinsch allegedly went on a careless spending binge, spending the money on extravagant personal costs instead of carrying out his end of the bargain.
According to the prosecution, Rinsch spent about $10 million on luxuries, including a whopping $3.7 million on antiques and furnishings, $1.8 million on credit card bills, and $1 million on legal fees to sue Netflix for additional money.
In addition to spending $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari, Rinsch reportedly spent $652,000 on luxury apparel and watches.
Serious legal questions have been raised by Rinsch’s lavish expenditures that were made using Netflix funds.
The 47-year-old director is scheduled to appear in federal court in California after being arrested in West Hollywood.
Prosecutors are currently pursuing justice for his alleged financial malfeasance, which is seen as a significant infraction and resulted in Netflix losing millions of dollars.
The case, which exposes how a well-known filmmaker exploited his position for personal benefit, has rocked the entertainment business.
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