The chickens are coming home to roost for 47 Ronin director Carl Rinsch. One month ahead of the filmmaker’s fraud and money laundering trial over trying to hoodwink Netflix out of $11 million and more, which was scheduled to commence in New York City, Rinsch says he’s so penniless he can’t afford to attend his hearing. Law enforcement arrested Rinsch in March in Los Angeles, for which he posted a $100,000 bond to avoid confinement.
According to the Department of Justice, Rinsch never completed work on his White Horse/Conquest drama series. The director’s public defender lawyers say Rinsch’s financial situation is so dire that he cannot afford to travel from L.A. to New York City for next week’s pre-trial court appearance. Interestingly, the federal judge is unbothered by Rinsch’s predicament.
“Ordered that the United States Marshal Service arrange for Mr. Rinsch 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.
Rinsch is heading to court to address multiple charges. If found guilty, he could spend decades in jail. A judge initially ordered his trial to start on September 8, but events will unfold on December 2 at 9:30 am at the federal courthouse at 500 Pearl Street. A witness list is unavailable, though Deadline suspects that Netflix executive Cindy Holland, Netflix co-chief Ted Sarandos, and 47 Ronin star Keanu Reeves could appear on the stand.
In 2018, Holland allegedly gave Rinsch $61 million for the White Horse project, which was later renamed Conquest. According to reports, Rinsch spent $44 million on White Horse but had almost nothing to show for his supposed efforts. Because Rinsch held final cut rights for the project, he insisted in 2020 that he needed an additional $11 million for various pre- and post-production-related trimmings to complete the series. Netflix gave him the money, but Rinsch allegedly had other plans for the cash, including spending the scratch on cars, crypto, lawyers (to sue Netflix), high-profile watches, frivolous spending, and other activities.
It took Rinsch a little more than a year to spend the millions, after which Netflix took him to arbitration to recoup its money. Netflix won the dispute, and Rinsch was ordered to pay a $12 million reward. However, Rinsch turned the tables on Netflix, saying they owed him $14 million.
Rinsch will plead not guilty to the charges, with less than a week to make travel arrangements for the trip. Rinsch can travel from L.A. to New York City in multiple ways, with deals on Expedia and Amtrak for reasonable sums.
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