Director who scammed $11 million out of Netflix sentenced to 30 months

Rinsch and his ex-wife, Gabriela Rosés, created sci-fi series The White Horse, later renamed Conquest, an unfinished Netflix boondoggle the streamer initially paid $44 million for. The production was a disaster, with Rinsch’s behavior growing increasingly erratic. Rosés and Rinsch’s family held an intervention and tried to persuade him to enter rehab. However, when he went over budget, Netflix refilled his coffers with an additional $11 million to finish the project. At the time, Rinsch claimed he finished season one and needed the extra cash to get season two on its feet. Instead, he invested millions in Dogecoin, bought five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, and a horsehair mattress, which he returned because he was allergic. 

Rinsch’s reduced sentence is thanks, in part, to the support of his friend and 47 Ronin star Keanu Reeves. In a letter to the court asking for leniency, Reeves wrote, “I believe circumstances arose where his mental health was compromised by misuse of medications and perhaps other issues, which amplified the acts of his self-sabotage and grandiosity, impacting his relationships, work, and ability to complete Conquest.”