Hollywood Director Arrested On Charges Of Swindling Netflix Out Of 11m For A Show That Never Aired

A Hollywood writer-director was arrested Tuesday on charges that he swindled 11 million from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead steering the cash toward cryptocurrency investments and a series of lavish purchases that included a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari.

Carl Erik Rinsch - perhaps best known for directing the film "47 Ronin" - has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering over what federal prosecutors allege was a scheme to defraud the streaming giant.

Prosecutors said Netflix had initially paid about 44 million to purchase an unfinished show called "White Horse" from Rinsch, but eventually doled out another 11 million after he said he needed the additional cash to complete the show.

Rather than using the extra money to wrap up production, Rinsch quietly transferred the money to a personal brokerage account, where he made a series of failed investments that lost about half of the 11 million in two months, according to prosecutors.

The filmmaker then dumped the rest of the money into the cryptocurrency market, which proved to be a profitable move, with Rinsch eventually transferring the earnings into a personal bank account, according to an indictment.