Car Commercial Director Found Guilty Of Scamming Netflix Out Of Millions

Carl Rinsch, the Hollywood director who used to make commercials for the likes of Mercedes, Nissan, Kia, Mazda, and Pennzoil, has been found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars, a little more than two years after the allegations first made the news. He also likely never would have been caught if it hadn't been for Netflix's silly insistence that the $55 million he got should result in an actual show getting made. Instead, he's now been convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and making illegal transactions, Rolling Stone reports. 

If Rinsch had struggled to make the jump from commercials to television, that would have been one thing. But it's not like he was new to Hollywood. He directed "47 Ronin," the 2013 Keanu Reeves movie. So when he said he needed another $11 million on top of the $44 million he'd already been given, it didn't automatically raise red flags. However, as Rolling Stone put it, "he used to gamble on the stock market, stay in fancy hotels, and purchase luxury goods. No episodes of 'Conquest' were ever produced."

During the weeklong trial, Rinsch reportedly tried to claim "the ordeal was a misunderstanding and that the $11 million payment was for pre-production for a second season on 'Conquest,' which Netflix never green-lit." Prosecutors, however, showed up with the receipts that proved he'd actually embezzled the money. Following Rinsch's conviction, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton made a statement, saying Rinsch "took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions. Today's conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable."

Sentencing is currently set for April. If you stack the maximum sentence for each charge on top of the previous one, Rinsch could see up to 90 years in prison. But that's also not how sentencing guidelines work, so don't be surprised if he's ultimately sentenced to less than 20 years.

While Rolling Stone's summary of how Rinsch used the money isn't wrong, it also undersells just how ridiculous his spending actually was. The Guardian, however, went a little deeper, explaining more about what Rinsch was accused of doing. And while I don't actually believe he wanted to get caught, come on, my man. Stuff like this is just asking to get caught:

But instead of putting the money toward the show, Rinsch steered the cash to a personal account where he made a series of failed investments, losing around half of the $11m in a couple months, according to prosecutors. He then put the remaining funds into the cryptocurrency market, netting some profit, though Rinsch then deposited the money into his own bank account.

Then came the lavish purchases, prosecutors said, with Rinsch buying five Rolls-Royces and one Ferrari, along with $652,000 on watches and clothes. He also bought two mattresses for about $638,000 and spent another $295,000 on luxury bedding and linens. In addition, he used some of the money to pay off about $1.8m in credit card bills, prosecutors said.

One Rolls-Royce and a Ferrari, maybe. Watches and clothes, sure. But five Rolls-Royces? Really? Unfortunately, we don't even really have time to dwell on that part, because this man SPENT $638,000 ON TWO MATTRESSES AND ANOTHER $295,000 ON LUXURY BEDDING AND LINENS. WHAT THE HELL?!?!

Sorry, something happened to my brain just now, and I completely glitched out. I'll probably never spend Car Money on a watch, but I can at least accept that a teeny tiny machine that takes more than 1,000 hours to produce by hand can cost big money, especially if you also throw in a case made from precious metals. But you want me to believe it's possible for a mattress to cost $300,000? Seriously? Why would you even want that?

Turns out, not only is it possible to spend House Money on a mattress, but a company called Hästens will happily sell you a single bed set that costs $1 million. I'm not going to claim I know the exact point where you officially have too much money, but if you spend $1 million on a single bed set, I think we can all agree you're well past that point.