Carl Rinsch spent years in “director jail.” Now, he’s facing the real thing.
On Thursday, December 11, 2025, a Manhattan federal jury found the filmmaker guilty on all seven counts in a case alleging he conned Netflix out of $11 million—money prosecutors said was supposed to finish a sci-fi series but instead fueled a string of risky bets and luxury buys.
After less than five hours of deliberation, the jury convicted Rinsch of wire fraud, money laundering, and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property. He faces a statutory maximum of 90 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines often result in far less than the theoretical maximum.
Rinsch kept a neutral expression as the verdict was read. He declined to comment while leaving the courtroom.
In a statement, his attorney Benjamin Zeman warned the verdict could be a troubling signal for creatives who end up in ugly disputes with deep-pocketed backers. He said he feared it could “set a dangerous precedent” for artists caught in contractual and creative conflicts with powerful companies.
Rinsch is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2026.
The Netflix show that never arrived
The trial revolved around Netflix’s spending on a planned sci-fi series initially titled “White Horse” (later renamed “Conquest”). According to federal prosecutors, Netflix had already paid about $44 million toward the project between 2018 and 2019, with the expectation that Rinsch would deliver a finished season.
Rinsch—best known for directing “47 Ronin”—shot footage for the project on two continents. But by late 2019, the production was in trouble and running beyond what Netflix and the production had planned. Rinsch asked the streamer for additional funds.
In March 2020, Netflix agreed to send Rinsch’s production company another $11 million.
‘Reimbursement’ vs. ‘finish the show’
That $11 million transfer became the heart of the case.
On the stand, Rinsch said he believed most of the money was effectively a reimbursement—intended to cover costs he said he’d already shouldered to keep the production afloat when it went over plan. He testified that Netflix expected only “soft pre-production” for a potential second season, while he hoped to build something franchise-sized.
Former Netflix executives testified to a very different understanding: that the extra $11 million was meant to help complete the show Netflix believed it was already paying for—episodes that were never delivered.
Prosecutors argued the negotiation itself was a pretense and that Rinsch intended to defraud the company from the start.
The spending-spree argument
At closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Markewitz tried to make the case simple: this wasn’t messy Hollywood accounting—it was misdirection followed by a money trail.
He pointed jurors to evidence that Rinsch moved the Netflix funds through accounts and into brokerage activity, including speculative trades involving stocks and cryptocurrency. He also highlighted luxury purchases that, prosecutors argued, were impossible to square with finishing a TV season—among them a $439,000 handmade Hästens mattress and high-end car purchases, including Rolls-Royces, that prosecutors said were insured in Rinsch’s own name.
Markewitz mocked the idea that such spending could be justified as production expenses. A mattress, he said, would be hidden under bedding on screen—meaning viewers would never know what brand it was.
The defense: a contract fight, not a fraud
Rinsch’s defense team argued the government was criminalizing what should have remained a contractual dispute.
Attorney Daniel McGuinness told jurors Rinsch lacked the intent required for conviction. He argued that Rinsch genuinely believed Netflix owed him about $11 million and that the parties never clearly aligned on how the extra money would be used.
In McGuinness’ telling, the two sides were talking past each other—and prosecutors turned that confusion into a conspiracy.
What happens next
After the guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the case was about following the money. In a statement, Clayton accused Rinsch of taking “$11 million meant for a TV show” and gambling it “on speculative stock options and crypto transactions.”
Jurors sent multiple notes during deliberations, including requests tied to testimony and trial exhibits. By shortly after noon Thursday, they had reached a unanimous verdict: guilty on every count.
Now the case moves to sentencing, where a judge will weigh the conviction, the amount of loss, and other factors before deciding how much time Rinsch will actually serve.