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Director Carl Rinsch Pleads Not Guilty to Charges in $11 Million Netflix Swindle

Carl Erik Rinsch, the director accused of blowing $11 million of Netflix’s money, pleaded not guilty to charges including fraud and money laundering.

Rinsch was arrested in March in connection with the alleged misappropriation of the streaming service’s funds; a seven-count grand jury indictment detailed the “scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating—but that was fiction.” Rinsch later asked Netflix for an additional $11 million in funding, which — a New York Times report and later the indictment alleged — he used to gamble on the stock market, stay in fancy hotels, and purchase luxury goods. While Rinsch initially faced up to 90 years in prison if convicted on all seven counts, the Manhattan court judge said Thursday that Rinsch would only face up to 20 years if found guilty, though even a sentence that severe is “wholly irrational.” “I don’t pay much attention to the [sentencing] guidelines,” the judge said.

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