Hollywood director Carl Rinsch sentenced to 30 months for diverting $11 million in TV production funds to stock options, crypto and luxury purchases

Carl Erik Rinsch, the director of "47 Ronin," was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Monday for stealing $11 million from a streaming company, which he had told the firm he needed to complete a science-fiction series, before funneling the money into stock options, cryptocurrency speculation, and personal luxury purchases, the Department of Justice said.

Rinsch was convicted in December following a week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff on charges including wire fraud and money laundering. The Block reported on Rinsch's arrest in March 2025, when he was first charged with defrauding the streaming service.

Netflix was the streaming service involved in the case, according to multiple reports from outlets like AP News, though the DOJ's press release refers to it only as "Streaming Company-1."

The company had paid Rinsch approximately $44 million between 2018 and 2019 for the unfinished show, titled "White Horse," before agreeing to provide an additional $11 million in March 2020 after Rinsch said he needed more funding to finish production, according to the DOJ.

Instead of spending the money on the show, Rinsch moved the funds through multiple bank accounts before consolidating them into a personal brokerage account, where he speculated on stock options.

The trades failed, and Rinsch lost more than half the $11 million within two months, prosecutors said.

He then turned to cryptocurrency speculation and personal spending with what remained, according to the DOJ. Purchases included at least $1.7 million on credit card bills, $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses, $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, and $387,000 on a Swiss watch.

A November 2023 New York Times investigation also claimed Rinsch turned roughly $4 million in Dogecoin into nearly $27 million.

"Carl Erik Rinsch orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by seeking $11 million from a subscription streaming service, falsely claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said. "Today's sentence sends a deterrent message: fraud will not be tolerated."

In addition to the prison term, Rinsch, 48, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, $11 million in forfeiture, and $700 in mandatory special assessments.