Hollywood Director Carl Erik Rinsch Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison for $11 Million Netflix Fraud

Kathmandu. Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for defrauding Netflix of approximately 11 million US dollars (about 8.3 million pounds).

Rinsch, 48, known as the director of the 2013 film '47 Ronin', was accused of spending the money given to complete the production of a science fiction-based television series on personal luxuries.

The US court found him guilty of federal fraud and money laundering charges. Although he could have faced a maximum of 90 years in prison, the court handed down a relatively lighter sentence.

Judge J. Rakoff ordered Rinsch to serve two and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, forfeiture of assets worth 11 million dollars, and a fine of 700 dollars.

Speaking in court before the sentencing, Rinsch accepted responsibility for his crime and apologized. US Attorney J. Clayton said in a statement, 'Today's sentence sends a clear message. Fraud will not be tolerated.'

According to the prosecution, Netflix initially provided Rinsch with approximately 55 million dollars to produce the science fiction-based series, then titled 'White Horse'. He requested an additional 11 million dollars, claiming it was needed to complete production.

However, instead of using the money for the series' production, he deposited it into his personal account and lost half of it within a few months.

According to the prosecution, Rinsch invested the remaining money in cryptocurrency and spent it on luxury items such as a Rolls-Royce car and mattresses worth millions of dollars.

During the week-long trial in New York, various Netflix officials testified that the company had only contracted for one season of the series, and Rinsch failed to complete even that.