‘47 Ronin’ Director Convicted of $11 Million Fraud in Netflix Case

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Sead Fadilpašić

Journalist

Sead Fadilpašić

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Jan 2018

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Sead specializes in writing factual and informative articles to help the public navigate the ever-changing world of crypto. He has extensive experience in the blockchain industry, where he has served...

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December 12, 2025

Carl Erik Rinsch (49), Hollywood director and writer, was convicted for stealing $11 million from Netflix. A part of the ill-gotten funds went into crypto.

U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, USA, announced on Thursday that “Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions.”

The ’47 Ronin’ director was convicted of one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of money laundering, with a max sentence of 20 years in prison.

Additionally, the prosecutors proved five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Each of these carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

He will receive his sentence on April 17, 2026.

According to Fortune, Rinsch’s attorney argued that the verdict “could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors, in this case one of the largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud.”

Betting on Dogecoin

Rinsch allegedly spent $4 million on Dogecoin (DOGE), yielding nearly $27 million in profits. The initial investment should’ve gone to a show production.

In 2018, the director reached an agreement with an unnamed streaming service, per which the latter would pay him $44 million for the episodes of the science fiction project ‘White Horse’.

However, after Netflix payed him the agreed-upon amount, Rinsch asked for more money in late 2019-early 2020. The company agreed to pay another $11 million for him to finish the show, transferring the funds in March.

Within only a few days, Rinsch moved the millions through a number of different bank accounts and into a personal brokerage account.

He then used it to “make a number of personal and speculative purchases of securities,” the announcement says. “His trading was unsuccessful, and in less than two months after receiving $11 million […], Rinsch had lost more than half of those funds.”

Additionally, he went on to spend millions on luxury items, credit card bills, as well as cryptocurrency investments.

Rinsch never finished the show.