Netflix wants its money back.
Five years after wiring $11 million to director Carl Erik Rinsch for a sci-fi series that never got made, the streamer is asking for a return on those funds.
Rinsch, 47, was arrested last week on charges of fraud and money laundering for allegedly using the cash for lavish purchases, speculative investments and legal fees to sue Netflix. He is out on a $100,000 bond and due to be arraigned in federal court in New York on April 3.
Later in April, Rinsch is due back in civil court in Los Angeles for a debtor’s examination by Netflix’s lawyers. The company has obtained an $11.8 million judgment and is attempting to locate assets it may be able to seize.
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In previous divorce proceedings, Rinsch has said that he is broke. Rinsch owes $420,000 in spousal support to his wife, Gabriela, according to a recent filing from her attorneys. In January 2024, Rinsch told the court is suffering “severe financial distress.”
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“Over the past four years, in lieu of a salary, I have been forced to use company funds for living expenses,” he wrote. He said that his company’s revenue had dwindled to nothing, and that he had to liquidate assets and borrow $150,000 from his family to stay afloat.
“My monthly income is zero,” he wrote. “I have been forced to focus all my efforts on being a ‘professional litigant.'”
Rinsch, who is from Los Angeles, was once an up-and-coming commercial director with backing from two powerful mentors. Under the tutelage of Ridley Scott, he made futuristic ads for Heineken, BMW and Mercedes. That led to a job directing “47 Ronin,” a samurai film starring Keanu Reeves.
After creative turmoil, the film flopped, causing Universal to lose at least $120 million. But Rinsch picked up a key ally. Reeves would go on to invest in “White Horse,” his short-form TV series about humanoid AI beings.
According to a court filing, the project bounced around, starting at Annapurna, then attracting interest from director Rian Johnson, who was brought on to executive produce. Six episodes were shot, ranging from four to 10 minutes in length, with a plan for seven more. In early 2018, Netflix executives were invited to Reeves’ house to review the script, and ultimately agreed to put $44 million into completing the project — renamed “Conquest” — while buying out previous investors.
Once production began in Brazil, Rinsch quickly went over budget, according to an arbitrator’s ruling. The ruling states there were numerous other problems, including casting issues and allegations of harassment and abuse on set. After further filming in Uruguay and Hungary, production wrapped in December 2019.
Prosecutors allege that Rinsch sought an additional $11 million to finish the first season, and then gambled the money on the stock market and on crypto. He is also accused of using the money to buy a fleet of Rolls Royces, luxury items and antique furniture.
In late 2020, Netflix decided to write off the $55 million investment. When told that the streamer would no longer fund the project, Rinsch did not take it well, writing an email to a Netflix executive that began, “Dear Coward,” according the arbitration ruling. “Time to fess up,” he continued. Other such messages followed, leading some to conclude he had become mentally unstable, according to the ruling.
At an arbitration hearing, Rinsch testified that this behavior was the result of his neurodiversity — specifically, autism spectrum disorder.
“Whatever’s going on there, I can tell you it’s not drug-induced,” he said. “It’s not mentally ill. It’s exacerbating a different neurotype that most people might not be able to understand.”
As of May 2021, Rinsch’s crypto bets had left him with a balance of $26.7 million in his Kraken account, according to court filings.
In September of that year, he bought a black Hästens Grand Vividus mattress — hand-made in Sweden, and reputedly the world’s most expensive mattress — for $439,900. He also bought a white Hästens Vividus King for $210,400. Both were ordered in custom, extra-wide sizes, roughly seven feet square.
Rinsch took delivery of one mattress, which he complained was too short. He then tried to cancel his order, asserting that he had become concerned about the “provenance of horsehair materials” due to ethical concerns and allergies, according to a lawsuit he filed against the company. Hästens sought to charge him a $100,000 return fee. (Most of his suit was dismissed by a judge and the case was ultimately dropped.)
In litigation with Netflix, Rinsch testified that he planned to use the mattresses in the second season of “Conquest” — which Netflix had not ordered. The arbitrator noted that it is customary to rent props or find cheaper substitutes for luxury items. She added that the purchase was “especially unnecessary” because in Rinsch’s own storyboards for a “palace scene,” the mattress would not have been visible.
Around that time, Rinsch also bought $5.4 million worth of furniture, according to the arbitrator’s ruling. In one instance, he agreed to buy 14 pieces by the Art Deco designer Jacques Adnet, including a $48,000 desk and cabinet, a $28,000 sofa, and some armchairs. After expressing interest in a larger purchase, he scaled back the order, citing “financial setbacks.”
“While I could tell you of my woes and disappointment, in markets here and abroad, it makes no difference,” he wrote to the dealer in January 2022.
He later sought the return of a $200,000 deposit, saying, “Our production was the victim of a studio meltdown.” The dealer sued, and after a jury trial in Philadelphia in 2023, Rinsch was ordered to pay a balance of $68,200.
Rinsch’s Kraken account was down to $1.5 million to $1.8 million by April 2022, according to his testimony in the divorce case. At a hearing in May, a judge raised a concern: “Did you say, sir, that the crypto you acquired was from production funds?”
“Yes, sir,” Rinsch said.
The judge seemed alarmed.
“Hold on a minute,” he said. “Hold up. Hold up. So in the real world, people in your line of work either have or create an LLC, a loan-out corporation, a close corporation, an entity for the production. All of the money goes into an account held by that entity. Business purposes and business spending is segregated from personal spending. You know, business.”
Rinsch replied: “That’s correct.”
Prosecutors allege that Rinsch had transferred Netflix’s money to a personal account and was rapidly spending it. He spent $1.8 million on credit cards, $1 million on lawyers to sue Netflix and litigate his divorce case, and $652,000 on watches and clothing, according to the indictment.
As of May 2023, he had $482,000 in a checking account. His Kraken balance was down to $68,000. He listed monthly expenses including $16,500 on rent and $3,500 on restaurants. The judge ordered him to pay $275,000 to cover his wife’s legal fees and to pay for her forensic accountant.
“I don’t have that money,” he told the court. “What can I do? I have no representation here today. I am trying to survive here. I don’t even know legally what I can do. Can I write something saying, ‘I am sorry, here are my accounts?'”
As the judge tried to explain that he couldn’t give legal advice, Rinsch interjected: “Nobody should laugh at me.”
The judge noted that he had been paying significant legal expenses. “You seem to be able to get it,” he said.
“There is no money,” Rinsch repeated.
In January 2024, he asserted that the legal costs had left him virtually destitute. His only assets, he claimed, were some kitchen appliances, $5,000 in cash, $3,900 in a brokerage account, and a $110,000 pension through the Directors Guild of America that he is not yet eligible to receive. California had also hit him with tax liens totaling $68,000.
His wife’s attorneys noted that as of April 2024, he was living at the Laurel in West Hollywood, which is advertised as an “ultra-luxury” apartment building, which they saw as evidence that he was maintaining his previous standard of living.
Rinsch did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. Netflix declined to comment.
Once Netflix obtained its $11.8 million judgment last August, the company’s lawyers hired private investigators to try to track down any remaining assets. Netflix told a judge that it had to move quickly: “Mr. Rinsch reportedly has a propensity to go on spending sprees.”
