Hollywood Director Convicted of Blowing $11M Meant for Sci-Fi Show on Stocks and Crypto

A California man who claimed to be making a science fiction TV show has been convicted of blowing about $11 million on his own stock and cryptocurrency bets.

Carl Erik Rinsch, 48, of Los Angeles, California, was convicted of one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and five counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced the conviction of the Los Angeles-based director and writer, for his role in a fraudulent scheme to steal $11 million from a subscription video on-demand streaming service in connection with a planned science fiction television show called “White Horse,” and then laundering that money.

The defendant was found guilty following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 17, 2026.

“Carl Erik Rinsch took $11 million meant for a TV show and gambled it on speculative stock options and crypto transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Today’s conviction shows that when someone steals from investors, we will follow the money and hold them accountable.”

Court documents say that Rinsch is a film and television writer and director who partially completed a science fiction television show called “White Horse.” In 2018, Rinsch reached an agreement with Streaming Company-1 in which Streaming Company-1 would both pay Rinsch for the existing episodes of White Horse and also fund the completion of the rest of the show. Between 2018 and 2019, Streaming Company-1 paid approximately $44 million for White Horse.

Between late 2019 and early 2020, Rinsch demanded even more money from Streaming Company-1 to complete White Horse. Streaming Company-1 ultimately agreed to pay another $11 million and transferred those funds to a company Rinsch controlled on or about March 6, 2020. The entirety of those funds was to be spent on the completion of White Horse.

But Rinsch did not use those funds to complete White Horse. Instead, within days, he began transferring the funds he received through a number of different bank accounts before consolidating them in a personal brokerage account. He then used those funds to make a number of personal and speculative purchases of securities. His trading was unsuccessful, and in less than two months after receiving $11 million from Streaming Company-1, he had lost more than half of those funds.

Even after losing most of the $11 million, RINSCH still did not spend the remaining funds he had stolen on White Horse. Instead, he used the money to speculate on cryptocurrency, and on personal expenses and luxury items, including at least $1.7 million on credit card bills; at least $3.3 million on furniture, antiques, and mattresses; at least $387,000 on a Swiss watch; and at least $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a red Ferrari.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy V. Capozzi, Jackie Delligatti, David A. Markewitz, Kevin Mead, and Adam Sowlati are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Maria Larracuente and William Coleman.