Carl Erik Rinsch, the director of the 2013 film "47 Ronin," has been found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering for misappropriating $11 million from Netflix. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the conviction on Thursday, December 12, 2025. Rinsch was commissioned by Netflix in 2018 to produce the sci-fi series "Conquest" (originally titled "White Horse") and received an initial $44.3 million in funding.
In March 2020, Rinsch requested and received an additional $11 million from Netflix to complete the series. However, prosecutors proved he diverted these funds through multiple bank accounts into a personal brokerage account. He then used the money for speculative stock trading, losing more than half of the $11 million within two months. Furthermore, Rinsch spent millions on luxury items, including $2.4 million on a red Ferrari and five Rolls Royces, $3.3 million on furniture and antiques, $1.7 million on credit card bills, and a $387,000 Swiss watch.
A significant portion of the misappropriated funds was invested in cryptocurrency, specifically Dogecoin (DOGE). According to reports, Rinsch used $4 million of the Netflix money to buy DOGE, which subsequently generated nearly $27 million in profits during the 2021 crypto bull market. He then allegedly spent $8.7 million of these profits on the aforementioned luxury goods.
Rinsch was convicted on one count of wire fraud (carrying a maximum 20-year sentence), one count of money laundering (max 20 years), and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from unlawful activity (max 10 years each). He faces a potential total of up to 90 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 17, 2026.
Netflix canceled "Conquest" in 2021 after Rinsch failed to meet production milestones and wrote off the entire $55 million investment. The company has not recovered any funds. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, "Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions... Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable."
