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Film director Carl Erik Rinsch was convicted in December 2025 and sentenced in June 2026 for a scheme involving an additional $11 million intended to help finish White Horse, a science-fiction series that was never completed. The U.S. Department of Justice says he instead used the money for speculative stock-option and cryptocurrency trades and personal spending. The case is more than a headline about crypto: it turned on what the production money was supposed to fund, where it went, and what a jury found.
What was the $11 million meant to pay for?
White Horse was a planned science-fiction series. Its premise, described in the 2025 indictment, involved a scientist who created superintelligent clones banished to a walled area in a Brazilian city, where they developed advanced technology and came into conflict with humans and one another. Rinsch began filming around 2016–2017; the indictment says about six short-form episodes, each roughly four to ten minutes long, were largely completed.
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In 2018, Rinsch reached an agreement with a streaming company to pay for existing episodes and fund the remaining work. The Justice Department’s 2026 sentencing release says approximately $44 million was paid between 2018 and 2019. Rinsch later sought additional funding. According to the indictment, the parties agreed that the extra $11 million would pay for completion work, including storyboarding, art, makeup and costume design, cast and crew, and editing footage already shot. The money was transferred on or about March 6, 2020. The DOJ identifies the company in its filings as “Streaming Company-1”; the Associated Press identifies it as Netflix.
How did the money move?
The indictment alleged that Rinsch moved nearly all of the additional payment through accounts he controlled and consolidated about $10.5 million in a personal brokerage account. The Justice Department’s later sentencing account says he lost more than half of the $11 million in less than two months through risky stock-option trades. The indictment specifies call options on a biopharmaceutical company and put options on an exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500.
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The indictment says that in 2021 the remaining funds went to a cryptocurrency exchange and were used to buy cryptocurrency, and that the trading proved profitable. That does not mean the crypto gains made the production whole: the series was never completed. The DOJ’s sentencing release summarizes the alleged diversion as stock and cryptocurrency speculation along with personal spending.
What personal spending did prosecutors describe?
The figures below come from two different DOJ documents and stages of the case. The 2026 sentencing release gives selected minimum amounts; the 2025 indictment includes separate approximate figures. They should not be added together or treated as directly comparable categories.
| Source and stage | Spending figure reported |
|---|---|
| DOJ sentencing release, 2026 | At least $1.7 million on credit-card bills |
| DOJ sentencing release, 2026 | At least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses |
| DOJ sentencing release, 2026 | At least $387,000 on a Swiss watch |
| DOJ sentencing release, 2026 | At least $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a red Ferrari |
| DOJ indictment, 2025 | Approximately $638,000 for two mattresses and approximately $295,000 for luxury bedding and linens |
The indictment’s mattress and bedding amounts are specific approximate figures; they are not a measure of all household spending. The later sentencing release frames its selected amounts as “at least” figures.
Was Carl Rinsch convicted, and what was his sentence?
Yes. A jury convicted Rinsch in December 2025 after a week-long trial. On June 29, 2026, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $11 million in forfeiture, and $700 in mandatory special assessments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
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At sentencing, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said: “Instead of using the money to make the show, Rinsch made risky bets on highly speculative stock options and cryptocurrency, and spent millions of dollars on luxury goods for himself.” The AP reported that Rinsch said he had been forced to confront matters involving his health, judgment, and life, and that he had failed to recognize the danger of his condition.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did the defense object to the verdict?
After the verdict, defense attorney Benjamin Zeman told the AP he believed it was wrong and warned it “could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors.” That objection reflects the defense’s position; it does not change the jury’s conviction or the sentence imposed. The available reporting and DOJ release establish the conviction and sentence, but do not establish whether an appeal was filed or its status as of October 4, 2026.
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