Director Carl Rinsch Pleads Not Guilty to Defrauding Netflix, Spending $11 Million Meant for Sci-Fi Series on Cars and Crypto

variety.com:

Ethan Shanfeld Carl Rinsch has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering, after the director was accused of taking $11 million from Netflix — meant for a sci-fi series that was never completed — and spending it on cars and cryptocurrency. Rinsch, who was out on a $100,000 bond, appeared in a downtown Manhattan courthouse Thursday afternoon for the arraignment, where a judge cracked jokes in a room packed with Columbia law students. Later in April, Rinsch is due back in civil court in Los Angeles for a debtor’s examination by Netflix’s lawyers.

The entertainment company has obtained an $11.8 million judgment and is attempting to locate assets it may be able to seize. A trial date was set for Sept. 8, along with a continuation of Rinsch’s bail conditions.

Most of the evidence in this case has been handed over to the defense, but the prosecution said they have several hard drives and laptops for which they are currently attempting to breach security protocols. The judge set a May deadline for that evidence to be produced. If the case goes to trial, Rinsch could face up to 20 years in prison.

Though, the judge said, “I don’t pay much attention to the [sentencing] guidelines,” calling them “wholly irrational.” Rinsch was once an up-and-coming director whose futuristic ads for Heineken, BMW and Mercedes led to a job helming “47 Ronin,” an original samurai film starring Keanu Reeves. While the film flopped, costing Universal at least $120 million, Rinsch had powerful allies. He considered Ridley Scott a mentor, and Reeves would go on to invest in “White Horse,” his short-form TV series about humanoid AI beings.