A director was arrested on charges of scoring Netflix for 11 million dollars. The science fiction series that was directing never aired, but would have used the funds necessary to produce it for personal purposes. The director in question is Carl Erik Rissch, screenwriter and director of Hollywood, perhaps better known for directing the film “47 Ronin”.
What director Carl Rissch did to scam Netflix
The accusations formulated by the prosecutor’s office are telematic fraud and money laundering for what is called “a plan to fray the streaming giant”. Public ministries said that Netflix had initially financed about 44 million dollars Rinscch for a series called “White Horse”, and then adds another 11 million after the director’s requests for additional funds to complete the work.
Instead of using extra money to conclude the production, Rinscch brought the money on a personal account for a series of investments that proved to be bankruptcy that, within two months, would have made him lose about half of the 11 million received.
“Carl Erik Rissch has orchestrated a plan to steal millions by soliciting a great investment from a video streaming service, claiming that the money would be used to finance a television show that was creating. But it was fiction”
Matthew Podolsky, deputy prosecutor of the United States
According to the accusation, the director then invested the rest of the money in the cryptocurrency market, this time earning us: so Rinscch spent about $ 10 million for personal purposes and luxury items in a race for purchases that, according to ministries, included about 1.8 million dollars in credit card invoices, 1 million dollars in lawyers to mention Netflix and get more money; $ 3.8 million in furniture and $ 2.4 million furniture for five rolls-royce and a Ferrari and $ 652,000 in watches and clothes.
What Carl Rissch now risks now
Rinscch, 47, was arrested in West Hollywood, California, and has just faced the first hearing of the trial in court. He showed up in the classroom of the Federal Court of Los Angeles with a high neck sweater and jeans, with chains in the arms and legs. He did not declare himself guilty and only answered the judge’s questions. When he was asked if he had read the prosecution against him, he said: “Not from the top to the bottom”, but he added that he understood the accusations.
The investigating judge Pedro V. Castillo then ordered his release, after he agreed to pay a bail of $ 100,000 to make sure to appear in court in New York, where his incrimination was deposited. The charge for electronic fraud provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison as well as the crime of money laundering. The other five charges concerning monetary transactions on assets deriving from a specific illegal activity provide for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each.
The date of the hearing of the Rissch process in New York has not yet been set. On the request for comment from Associated Press Netflix refused to respond.
