Hollywood filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch, known for directing "47 Ronin", was arrested Tuesday (March 18) 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.

Federal prosecutors have charged Rinsch with wire fraud and money laundering, alleging that he deceived the streaming giant to secure millions. The status of his legal representation remains uncertain, while Netflix has refrained from issuing a statement on the matter. 

According to investigators, Netflix had initially invested approximately $44 million in Rinsch's incomplete project, "White Horse". However, when the director insisted he required additional funding to finalise the production, the company granted him another $11 million—funds that prosecutors claim were never used for the show's completion.

Instead of using the additional funds to complete the sci-fi series, Rinsch discreetly transferred the money into a personal brokerage account, where he engaged in a series of high-risk investments that ultimately wiped out nearly half of the $11 million within two months, prosecutors alleged.

Rather than recovering his losses, the filmmaker then funneled the remaining funds into cryptocurrency. This gamble proved lucrative, as Rinsch later converted his crypto earnings into cash and transferred them into his personal bank account, according to the indictment.

From there, he embarked on an extravagant spending spree, depleting roughly $10 million on luxury goods and personal expenses. 

Prosecutors claim this included approximately $1.8 million in credit card payments, $1 million in legal fees to sue Netflix for additional funds, $3.7 million on furniture and antiques, $2.4 million on a collection of high-end cars—including five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari—and $652,000 on designer clothing and watches.

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Rinsch, 47, was arrested in West Hollywood on Tuesday and appeared before a federal court in California later that day, authorities said. His indictment, however, was filed in New York.