U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff handed down the sentence on Monday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Rinsch, 48, had been convicted in December on charges including wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors alleged that Rinsch misused funds provided by Netflix for a science-fiction series titled “White Horse”. The streamer had invested roughly $44 million in the project, which ultimately was never completed.
According to federal filings, the disputed $11 million was deposited into Rinsch’s company account on March 6, 2020, before being moved through multiple accounts. Authorities say he “quickly transferred” the money from the Rinsch Co. account into additional holdings, until about $10.5 million ended up in a personal brokerage account just weeks later.
From there, the financial picture unraveled further. Prosecutors said Rinsch lost more than half the funds in under two months through aggressive stock market trading. Despite telling Netflix that “White Horse” was progressing well, investigators say he later shifted remaining funds into cryptocurrency, where he reportedly profited during subsequent market swings.
The indictment also described a pattern of extravagant spending, alleging that around $10 million was used for luxury purchases including five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, designer watches, high-end clothing, luxury bedding, linens, and legal fees. Some of those legal expenses, prosecutors said, were tied to efforts to sue Netflix for additional funding as well as costs related to his divorce.
Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood and released the same day after posting a $100,000 bond, which secured his appearance in federal court in New York.
The series at the center of the case was never completed.
During sentencing, Rinsch and his legal team argued that his actions were influenced by mental health struggles and medication-related issues, saying he is now seeking treatment with a new care provider. He told the court, “I failed to recognize the danger of the state I was in,” though specific medical details were not disclosed publicly.
Ahead of the sentencing, actor Keanu Reeves—who starred in Rinsch’s most prominent film project—submitted a letter in May asking for “leniency and mercy as well as justice” for the director.
The court also imposed additional penalties: three years of supervised release, forfeiture of the $11 million, and a mandatory $700 special assessment.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in the official announcement, “Today’s sentence sends a deterrent message: fraud will not be tolerated.”
The ruling marks the close of a case that began as a high-value streaming partnership and ended with a stalled production, financial losses, and a prison term for its director.