A Hollywood writer-director was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he defrauded Netflix out of $11 million.
Carl Erik Rinsch, who directed the movie "47 Ronin" back in 2013, was arrested in West Hollywood, California on Tuesday following allegations that he swindled $11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead using that money for cryptocurrency investments and to make lavish purchases.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors say that Netflix initially paid approximately $44 million to acquire an incomplete sci-fi series titled “White Horse” from Rinsch. However, after the director claimed he needed extra funds to finish the project, Netflix paid another $11 million, which they now claim was a scheme to defraud the streaming giant.
Instead of using the additional funds to finish the project, prosecutors say that Rinsch moved the money into a personal brokerage account, where he made a series of failed investments, losing half of the $11 million within just two months.
After losing half the money, prosecutors say that the director used the remaining funds to invest in the cryptocurrency market, which turned out to be lucrative. But instead of returning the money or finishing the show, prosecutors say that Rinsch ultimately transferred the profits into a personal bank account and used it for a series of lavish purchases.
Prosecutors say that Rinsch spent about $10 million on personal expenses and luxury items and cars. That included $1.8 million on credit card bills, $3.8 million on furniture and antiques, $2.4 million for five Rolls-Royces and a Ferraris, and $652,000 on watches and clothing.
Additionally, prosecutors say the director spent $1 million on legal fees to sue Netflix for even more money.
Rinsch was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering. He was released later on Tuesday after he agreed to post a $100,000 bond.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/c4kZPBN
No comments:
Post a Comment