Film director Carl Eric Rinsch, once recognized for his creative ambitions and high-profile projects, became the central figure in a dramatic courtroom narrative when a New York jury heard that he had undertaken a spectacular series of failed seven-figure options trades. These speculative investments occurred after Netflix transferred a remarkable $11 million to his account, a sum intended to sustain his elaborate production efforts. The chain of events revealed that Rinsch’s own broker at Wells Fargo saw the magnitude of these investments and attempted, with growing concern, to halt the reckless spree—but ultimately failed to restrain his client’s impulses.
According to testimony delivered by Ronald See, Rinsch’s former financial advisor at Wells Fargo, the filmmaker responded with a chilling nonchalance when questioned about his risky trading. “I can afford to lose the money,” he had declared, suggesting both an indifference to the dangers of his financial maneuvers and a misplaced confidence rooted in his access to streaming-fueled capital. When the brokerage intervened to limit his transactions to a maximum of $250,000 per individual trade, the restriction failed to deter him. Rinsch simply shifted his ambitions elsewhere, determined to regain unrestricted control over the remaining millions.
On March 30, 2019—less than a month after receiving the original $11 million transfer—Rinsch directed See to initiate a wire transfer of $8.5 million, moving his funds from Wells Fargo to Citibank. This maneuver was designed to enable him to establish a new brokerage relationship with Charles Schwab. In a letter later presented in court, Rinsch wrote to See with startling candor: “They won’t put restrictions on me there.” This missive encapsulated his defiance and unwillingness to submit to any form of fiscal oversight.
At the center of the current trial, held in federal court in Manhattan, stands the issue of whether Rinsch possessed any legitimate right to use the $11 million freely. Prosecutors allege that the money, which Netflix provided, was strictly allocated for the continuation of his unfinished series titled *White Horse*—a 120-minute science fiction production exploring the conflict between human beings and clones. Prior to receiving the disputed funds, Rinsch had already expended approximately $44 million provided by the streaming giant without completing even a single episode of the ambitious show.
Defense lawyers, however, have vigorously disputed this claim. They assert that the $11 million constituted a contractually owed payment, a reward for having completed principal photography, thereby granting Rinsch ownership of the money and full discretion over how it was to be used. The question of intent and entitlement has therefore become the crux of the legal debate, polarizing the courtroom into two competing narratives—one centered on alleged fraud and financial misconduct, the other on artistic autonomy and the legitimacy of contractual earnings.
Testimonies from two of Rinsch’s former financial advisors portrayed a man remarkably eager to deploy his newfound capital into speculative markets. The evidence presented shows that the $11 million was wired on March 6, 2020—precisely when the COVID-19 pandemic began to paralyze the global entertainment industry. Over the subsequent three weeks, Rinsch lost nearly $5.8 million in a flurry of volatile trading, focusing primarily on options tied to Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical firm that, at the time, was racing to produce COVID-19 therapeutics. While the losses were devastating, the defense noted that See himself gained a $22,000 commission during this period, subtly suggesting that the broker, too, profited from the trading frenzy he later criticized.
When Rinsch transitioned his funds to a new account at Charles Schwab, his speculative fervor reignited almost immediately. Correspondence between the filmmaker and his Schwab advisor, Adam Checchi, revealed Rinsch’s aggressive posture: “I could send $3 mm personal to get started,” he wrote, referring to an additional deposit of three million dollars. According to Checchi’s testimony, he interpreted this message to mean that Rinsch intended to utilize personal funds rather than production capital. Yet, the subsequent weeks brought further losses—nearly $6 million more—predominantly from high-risk bets predicting a rise in Gilead’s stock price coupled with a decline in the S&P 500 index. His own written words to Checchi underscored his strategy: “I’m not a broad, diversify kind of guy,” Rinsch explained, asserting that he engaged in “aggressive” trading with full awareness and even expectation that he might lose everything.
The day’s proceedings also revisited earlier testimony from Peter Friedlander, a former Netflix executive who had previously described *White Horse* as a visionary undertaking before relations between the company and the director soured. Defense attorney Benjamin Zeman projected email exchanges dating back to August 2019 to illustrate the deteriorating collaboration. In one such message, Rinsch urgently pleaded for immediate casting assistance in Brazil, warning that the “show is set to collapse.” Friedlander, evidently frustrated, forwarded the email internally to colleagues including Mike Posey, Shelley Stevens, and Rahul Bansal, remarking that the production’s troubles stemmed from Rinsch’s own indecision and delays.
The defense contends that Netflix’s eventual withdrawal of material support in September 2020 dealt the fatal blow to *White Horse*, dooming the project after years of ambition and expenditure. Rinsch allegedly continued requesting both creative and financial assistance for at least six months following these exchanges, until the contentious $11 million payment was transferred. Eight months later, Netflix formally abandoned the production, recording it as a tax write-off in November 2020.
As the trial progresses in Manhattan, the proceedings have become emblematic of the volatile intersection between creativity, excess, and financial speculation. At forty-eight, Carl Eric Rinsch now faces a grim future: if convicted on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions, he could be sentenced to as many as ninety years in federal prison. The trial is expected to continue into the following week, with both sides poised to argue over whether Rinsch’s actions represent an artist’s misunderstood independence or a calculated abuse of corporate trust.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-director-carl-rinsch-options-trading-11-million-fraud-trial-2025-12
