Director Carl Rinsch is scheduled for sentencing on Monday, facing potentially more than a decade in prison after being found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Rinsch in December 2025 of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million in production funds intended for a science fiction series titled “White Horse.”
Between 2018 and 2020, Rinsch received the funds from Netflix for the project he had sold to the streamer. However, evidence presented during the trial indicated that Rinsch diverted these funds to a personal account. He then used the money for speculative cryptocurrency trading and an extensive personal spending spree, which included multiple luxury vehicles, over $600,000 on watches, and millions more on furniture and antiques. Rinsch failed to deliver a completed show and did not return the misappropriated funds to Netflix.
Actor Keanu Reeves, who previously worked with Rinsch on the 2013 film “47 Ronin,” submitted a letter to the judge ahead of the sentencing. Reeves described Rinsch's tendency to “self-sabotage by amplifying the scale, scope, and landscape of what had been negotiated,” which he stated could put himself and counterparties at odds. Reeves offered this insight not to diminish Rinsch's actions but in the hope it might explain them, requesting leniency as a potentially healing act alongside punishment.
According to sentencing guidelines, Rinsch faces up to 121 months in prison. Legal sources suggest that a sentence of less than five years would be considered a favorable outcome for Rinsch. The case highlights a brazen form of financial misconduct that has drawn attention in an era of increased scrutiny in the entertainment industry.