In March of 2020, Netflix infused $11 million into a production company to complete the first season of “White Horse,” a futuristic sci-fi series it hoped to bring to its platform.
Carl Rinsch — the director, writer, and showrunner of “White Horse” — never finished the 12 episodes he was supposed to deliver.
But a short time after he got the cash, Rinsch spent millions of dollars on furniture, cars, credit card bills — and a whole lot of takeout.
According to testimony at his criminal trial on Thursday, Rinsch spent a total of $9.14 million through a personal bank account with funds originally earmarked to finish “White Horse,” which had the production codename “Conquest.”
The spending included more than 480 food deliveries from Postmates and Uber Eats during a six-month span in 2022, according to a spreadsheet entered into evidence. The spreadsheet showed Rinsch sometimes making a dozen separate food purchases each day.
The most expensive category, FBI agent Michael Naccarelli testified, was for furniture, for which Rinsch spent $3.36 million.
Rinsch also spent $2.4 million on cars — including a Ferrari and Rolls-Royces — and $1.8 million on American Express bills, according to Naccarelli. He also spent money on hotels, jewelry, and art, Naccarelli said.
“Rinsch described the Ferrari as “a birthday gift to myself” in a 2021 text message to his personal assistant, which was shown to jurors later Thursday.
Attorneys for Rinsch told jurors at his trial in Manhattan federal court that the “White Horse” debacle is a civil business dispute — not criminal financial fraud.
They say Rinsch, who previously directed “47 Ronin,” starring Keanu Reeves, is a “creative genius” who was overwhelmed by the demands of directing, writing, and producing “White Horse” and left to flounder by the streaming company.
Days after Netflix sent $11 million to a bank account for Rinsch’s production company, he moved $10.5 million to a personal Wells Fargo bank account, according to Naccarelli and records entered into trial evidence.
The director then moved portions of the funds to a Kraken cryptocurrency exchange account, as well as other bank accounts, before ultimately transferring $13.7 million to a personal Bank of America account.
With his Kraken account, Rinsch purchased about a dozen different cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin, Etherium, Bitcoin Cash, and the stablecoin Tether, trial records show.
In April 2022, Rinsch’s Dogecoin holdings were worth about $755,000, and his Etherium tokens about $939,000, according to Naccarelli.
While a financial advisor previously testified in the trial that Rinsch’s stock investments went badly, Naccarelli said the director’s cryptocurrency investments were profitable.
“The trades performed very well,” Naccarelli said as Rinsch — wearing a three-piece black suit and a patterned pink tie and matching pocket square — nodded slightly.
Allen Grove, an FBI agent who testified after Naccarelli, said Rinsch considered himself a major Dogecoin trader when they met in April 2023 regarding a dispute over one of Rinsch’s furniture purchases in Paris.
“Mr. Rinsch described to me that he became wealthy during the pandemic by investing in Dogecoin,” Grove testified. “He described himself to me as ‘The Dogecoin Whale.'”
Rinsch said in an earlier deposition, which was shown to jurors on Thursday, that his purchases of four Rolls-Royces were meant for the production of “White Horse,” and not for personal use. Netflix wrote off the production as a loss in 2020.
“That would be fraud otherwise,” Rinsch said in the deposition.
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