Hollywood director arrested on charges of swindling Netflix out of $11M for a show that never aired

By Associated Press

A Hollywood writer-director was arrested Tuesday on charges that he swindled $11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead steering the cash toward cryptocurrency investments and a series of lavish purchases that included a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari.

Carl Erik Rinsch — perhaps best known for directing the film “47 Ronin” — has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering over what federal prosecutors allege was a scheme to defraud the streaming giant.

Prosecutors said Netflix had initially paid about $44 million to purchase an unfinished show called “White Horse” from Rinsch, but eventually doled out another $11 million after he said he needed the additional cash to complete the show.

Rather than using the extra money to wrap up production, Rinsch quietly transferred the money to a personal brokerage account, where he made a series of failed investments that