The blast radius of Carl Rinsch‘s extravagant spending habits and Netflix‘s impetuous handing out of millions in the Golden Age of Streaming now has the feds footing the bills.
A month before the 47 Ronin director’s fraud and money laundering trial over allegedly scamming the Ted Sarandos and Greg Peter run streamer out of $11 million and more was initially scheduled to start in New York City, looks like the once high-living Rinsch truly is dead broke – as he claimed when arrested back in March in the City of Angels.
In fact, out on a $100,000 bond posted quickly after the Department of Justice indictment came down this spring, the “no income” filmmaker behind the never completed and hugely over budget android drama series White Horse/Conquest is totally skint. The 47-year-old Rinsch is so broke say his public defender lawyers that he can’t even afford to get himself from LA to the Big Apple for a pre-trial court appearance next week.
And a federal judge is A-Okay with that.
“Ordered that the United States Marshal Service arrange for Mr. means of noncustodial transportation from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York, or furnish the fare for such transportation for Mr. Rinsch’s court appearance comma, scheduled for August 19, 2025 at 4 pm,” wrote District Judge Jed Rakoff on Monday after receiving a request from the director’s publicly provided attorney earlier on August 11. “it is hereby ordered that it should be arranged for Mr. Rinsch to arrive in New York by the evening of August, 18 2025, and it is hereby further ordered that the effort, said expenses shall be paid for by the United States Marshal Service,” Judge Rakoff added.
Facing decades behind bars if found guilty on multiple charges, Rinsch was originally set to go on trial on September 8. Tha date has now been kicked down the calendar a bit now to December 2 at 9:30 am ET in the federal courthouse at 500 Pearl Street. No witness list has been produced yet, but you can be sure ex-Netflix exec Cindy Holland, and maybe even Sarandos and 47 Ronin star Keanu Reeves are in the running to potentially testify.
Given the seal of approval by Reeves, Rinsch was given $61 million by now Paramount streaming chief Holland when she deftly snagged White Horse, later renamed Conquest, out of Amazon’s paws in 2018. Burning through $44 million for the project then called White Horse with little to show for it, but holding final-cut power, Rinsch insisted in 2020 he needed another $11 million for various and pre-and post-production needs to complete the series – and Netflix gave it to him.
Well, as Billy Preston once said, nuthin’ plus nuthin means nuthin, and, BSing Netflix that everything was “awesome and moving forward really well” on the project, Rinsch went on a cars, crypto, lawyers (to sue Netflix) fancy watches, fun and more spending spree.
A year or so later, with Rinsch living large but almost busted again, the streamer took Rinsch to arbitration to get their money back.
Securing a $12 million award, Netflix won that round, after the filmmaker claimed that the company actually owed him $14 million. However, a poverty declaring Rinsch hasn’t paid them a penny. And then the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York (who haven’t had the best year between Donald Trump’s vengeance and face planting in their sex-trafficking prosecution of Sean Diddy Combs) came a knockin’ a few months ago – which brings us to now.
Assuming that the not guilty pleading Rinsch isn’t flying Con Air nor Amtracking or Greyhounding it, air travel is actually pretty reasonable, even with less than a week left to make the trip.
Currently, with a peek on Expedia, there is a one-way and non-stop 8:47 pm PT flight in Economy on August 18 from LAX to JFK on Frontier Airlines for $245 before taxes and fees . That flight gets into NYC at 5:30 am ET, so Rinsch would have some time before having to show up at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse on the afternoon of the 19th. Alternatively, there is a 9:15 am PT departing one-way flight on Delta for $459 would get Rinsch into JFK at around 6:25 pm ET on the 18th.
When you make this a return flight with Rinsch going back to LA on the 20th – well, the prices go up to around $600 at the low end. Of course, this doesn’t take into consideration the fact that the defendant will likely need a hotel – which is never cheap or easy to get in New York in the middle of August.
Still, in this age of deep federal budget cuts and agencies being slashed by the Trump administration, even the idea of a one-time multi-millionaire (at least on paper) Hollywood director getting government hand-outs might just rub some the wrong way.
Just maybe.
The post Busted! ’47 Ronin’ Director Is So Broke; Can’t Afford To Travel To NYC Ahead Of $11M Netflix Fraud Trial appeared first on Deadline.
