On Tuesday, the Justice Department pressed charges against Carl Erik Rinsch, a filmmaker who had been hired by Netflix to produce a science fiction series that sadly never saw the light of day. The accusation involves a scheme to defraud the company of a staggering $11 million.
The indictment, unveiled by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York along with the FBI’s New York Field Office, reveals a surprising misuse of funds. Between 2018 and early 2020, Rinsch reportedly convinced Netflix to provide funding, which he then redirected into a personal brokerage account to engage in securities trading, completely sidestepping its intended purpose—the production of the series.
Rinsch, who was taken into custody on Tuesday in West Hollywood, now faces serious charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and conducting financial transactions with illegally obtained funds. Interestingly, while the indictment does not explicitly mention Netflix, the company’s tumultuous engagements with Rinsch over the series, known initially as “White Horse” and later “Conquest,” have been well-documented. Last year, an arbitrator ruled against Rinsch, instructing him to pay nearly $12 million back to Netflix in damages and legal fees.
In an official statement, Leslie Backschies, an assistant director with the FBI, remarked, “Carl Rinsch allegedly diverted over $11 million from a major streaming service to fund extravagant personal purchases and investments rather than fulfilling his promise of completing a TV series.”
The New York Times reported on the breakdown between Rinsch and Netflix earlier in 2023. At the height of the streaming era, he sold his show concept to Netflix. However, by early 2021, as Rinsch’s conduct grew increasingly erratic, Netflix determined to pull the plug. His correspondence with Netflix top brass included claims of discovering hidden Covid-19 transmission methods and bizarrely, self-proclaimed abilities to predict natural phenomena like earthquakes and lightning.
Once Netflix made it clear they were halting funds for “Conquest,” Rinsch embarked on a spending spree with the leftover production budget. He indulged in the luxury of five-star hotels across California and Spain and splurged on a fleet of high-end cars and opulent furniture. While Rinsch justified these acquisitions as necessary props for the show, arbitrator Rita Miller, a seasoned former Los Angeles Superior Court judge, decreed otherwise, stating no such purchases were essential for filming.
In the end, no episodes were ever created, leaving Netflix with a $55 million write-off for the ill-fated project.
