Carl Rinsch to serve 30 months for $11M Netflix fraud

A Hollywood director accused of defrauding Netflix of $11 million will spend the next two-plus years in prison.

Carl Rinsch, who was convicted of defrauding the streaming service in December, was sentenced on Monday to 30 months in federal prison for the scheme, The New York Times reported.

In addition to the prison term, Rinsch will have to pay back the $11 million he took from Netflix. He will also have to take part in an outpatient mental health treatment program and stay off narcotics.

Rinsch secured funding from Netflix in 2018 for the series “Conquest,” originally called “White Horse.”

The Associated Press reported that Netflix first gave him $44 million for the show but then gave him another $11 million he said he needed to complete it.

But instead of putting all the money into the show, he put some of it into a personal brokerage account and used it to trade securities, the Times said.

The streaming platform canceled plans for the show in 2021 after growing concerns over Rinsch’s behavior. After he found out about the project being shelved, he spent the rest of its production money on cryptocurrency speculation, living in five-star hotels and buying five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, according to the newspaper.

He also allegedly bought watches, clothes, and even two mattresses for which he paid $638,000, the AP reported.

The judge, who gave Rinsch half of the term the prosecution requested, took into consideration character witness letters, including one from actor Keanu Reeves, who met Rinsch in 2013 during the filming of “47 Ronin.”

"I believe circumstances arose where his mental health was compromised by misuse of medications and perhaps other issues, which amplified the acts of his self-sabotage and grandiosity,” the “John Wick” actor wrote.

“This process has forced me to confront things about my health, my judgment and my life,” Rinsch told the court. He apologized, saying “real harm was caused,” and that “I failed to recognize the danger of the state I was in,” the AP reported.

Rinsch is scheduled to begin his prison sentence in September.