{"id":5044,"date":"2026-07-01T23:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=5044"},"modified":"2026-07-01T23:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T23:34:55","slug":"movie-director-sentenced-to-prison-over-unfinished-netflix-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=5044","title":{"rendered":"Movie director sentenced to prison over unfinished Netflix show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>

FILE-Director Carl Erik Rinsch attends the New Directors’ Showcase In Los Angeles presented by Team One, Saatchi LA on September 23, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Sciulli\/Getty Images for Team One, Saatchi LA)<\/span> <\/p>

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Expand<\/div><\/div><\/div> <\/div>

Carl Rinsch was sentenced to 2 1\/2 years in prison after being convicted of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million for a sci-fi series he never completed.\u00a0<\/p>

Rinsch, a writer-director who was sentenced Monday, is well-known for the 2013 samurai fantasy movie “47 Ronin” starring Keanu Reeves, who showed his support for the director in a letter to the court to show Rinsch leniency ahead of his sentencing.\u00a0<\/p>

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<\/div>

Carl Rinsch fraud case<\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

Carl Rinsch was convicted in December 2025 for federal wire fraud and other charges. Citing prosecutors and trial testimony, The Associated Press reported that Rinsch told Netflix he needed $11 million to complete a show called “White Horse” but transferred the money into a personal account and spent staggering sums of money on luxury cars, watches, clothes, and household goods.\u00a0<\/p>

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Among the other lavish purchases, Rinsch bought five Rolls-Royces, a red Ferrari, $652,000 worth of watches and clothes, expensive mattresses, and $295,000 on luxury bedding and linens. Prosecutors also said he used some of the money to pay off about $1.8 million in credit card bills.<\/p>

The AP noted that prosecutors stated that Netflix initially paid Rinsch about $44 million for “White Horse” in 2018 and 2019, then gave him another $11 million in 2020 after Rinsch claimed he needed additional money to wrap up production of the film. Prosecutors also argued that Rinsch should serve five years in prison.\u00a0<\/p>

Who is Carl Rinsch?<\/h2>

The backstory:<\/p>

Carl Rinsch is from the Los Angeles area and started making short films as a teen. Rinsch later directed commercials, then received attention for the movie “47 Ronin,” which stars actor Keanu Reeves, whose character leads a group of samurai seeking to avenge their master’s death.<\/p>

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\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hollywood director Carl Rinsch will serve time in prison after being convicted of conning Netflix out of $11 million for a sci-fi show he never finished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,412],"tags":[8,413],"class_list":["post-5044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-netflix","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-netflix"],"yoast_head":"\nMovie director sentenced to prison over unfinished Netflix show - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=5044\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Movie director sentenced to prison over unfinished Netflix show - 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