Crime House 24/7: Night Watch
Episode: The $55 Million Netflix Mirage of Carl Rinsch
Host: Katie Ring
Date: January 29, 2026

Episode Overview

In this Night Watch episode, host Katie Ring dives into the true-crime saga surrounding director Carl Rinsch and the collapse of his ambitious Netflix TV series “Conquest” (originally “White Horse”). What began as a $55 million creative bet by Netflix turned into a federal fraud case, culminating in Rinsch being convicted of fraud and money laundering. Ring explores Rinsch’s Hollywood rise, the streaming wars gamble, a paper trail of misused production funds, and the broader implications for risk and accountability in the creative industries.

1. The Rise and Fall of Carl Rinsch

• Early Career and Breakthrough

  • Carl Eric Rinsch found early success in Hollywood, directing high-end commercials and short films (notably, “The Gift”—Cannes 2010).
  • He directed the big-budget fantasy “47 Ronin” (2013) starring Keanu Reeves, but the film underperformed, losing millions for Universal Pictures.
  • Quote:

    “A miss at that scale doesn't go unnoticed, especially for a director.” (Katie Ring, 04:04)

• Second Chance: White Horse

  • Despite the setback, Rinsch remained a Hollywood curiosity for his visual storytelling skill.
  • Alongside his wife, model and designer Gabriela Rosas Bentancourt, he developed “White Horse,” a sci-fi project about a scientist and intelligent clones—ambitious, expensive, and “built to scale.”
  • In the late 2010s streaming wars, content-hungry platforms like Netflix were willing to bet big on visionary creators.

2. Netflix’s $55 Million Bet — And the Unraveling

• Deal Structure and Early Production

  • By 2018, “White Horse” attracted bids from multiple platforms; Netflix emerged the winner, agreeing to pay Rinsch’s company around $44 million up front (2018–2019), with final creative control.
  • In March 2020, Netflix paid an additional $11 million to finish the series, expecting a completed product.
  • Key Detail:

    “Netflix even gave Rinsch final cut privileges, meaning he had total creative control over what the show would look like.” (Katie Ring, 07:38)

• Financial Shenanigans Begin

  • Almost immediately, instead of going to production, the extra funds were transferred through company and personal accounts.
  • Rinsch consolidated $10.5 million into his own brokerage account, using it for high-risk stock market options trades.
  • Quote:

    “At this point, production money was no longer being treated as production money. Instead, it was being positioned for speculative financial activity.” (Katie Ring, 10:53)

  • He lost more than half of the $11 million within weeks.

• Netflix Left in the Dark

  • Rinsch continued to assure Netflix the project was “awesome and moving forward really well” (11:48), while the money vanished in risky trades.
  • Behind the scenes, his marriage was breaking down and on-set behavior became erratic—including outlandish claims about COVID-19 and secret discoveries.
  • Quote:

    “He made unusual claims, including that he had discovered COVID-19’s secret transmission mechanism and that he could predict lightning strikes.” (Katie Ring, 12:36)

  • By late 2020: the show was unfinished, millions were gone, and divorce proceedings began.

3. From Stock Market Gambling to Crypto—and Personal Splurges

• Cryptocurrency Investments

  • In 2021, Rinsch moved remaining funds to a personal cryptocurrency exchange account. This time he reversed his prior losses, turning a profit as crypto values rose.
  • Still, no money was returned to Netflix or the production; instead, he began lavish personal spending.

• Lavish Expenditures

  • Between June 2021 and November 2022, Rinsch spent ~$10 million of the Netflix money on personal and luxury purchases:
    • $1.78M on personal credit cards
    • $1.07M on legal fees related to the show and divorce
    • ~$395K on hotels/rentals (e.g., Four Seasons)
    • ~$3.8M on furniture, antiques, including $638K on two Swedish mattresses he later claimed were “props”
    • ~$2.4M on high-end vehicles – five Rolls Royces, a Ferrari
    • ~$650K on watches and designer clothing
  • Quote:

    “He spent approximately $395,000 on luxury hotels and rentals, including the Four Seasons, nearly $3.8 million on furniture, decor, and antiques... roughly $2.4 million on high end vehicles, including five Rolls Royces and one Ferrari...” (Katie Ring, 13:53)

4. Legal Showdown—From Hollywood to Federal Court

• Netflix Fights Back

  • Executives became suspicious, missed meetings piled up, and eventually, Rinsch used Netflix-funded money to hire attorneys to sue Netflix for more compensation.
  • The case went to arbitration, which ruled “in Netflix's favor,” ordering Rinsch to pay back $11.8 million.

• Federal Charges Filed

  • The FBI and IRS began investigating in 2023–2024.
  • On March 18, 2025, federal charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions were unsealed; Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood.
  • Quote:

    “Prosecutors unsealed a federal indictment charging Carl Rinsch with wire fraud, money laundering and multiple counts related to engaging in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.” (Katie Ring, 20:20)

5. The Trial—the Defense, Prosecution, and Verdict

• Insanity Defense and Testimony

  • Rinsch’s legal team claimed he was in “a state of psychosis” during the production, planning to call a psychiatrist who attributed his behavior to stimulant use and pandemic stress.

• Key Evidence and Testimonies

  • Rinsch’s assistant testified he instructed her to make luxury purchases quickly, referencing Brewster’s Millions—a film about spending a windfall in 30 days:
    • Quote:

      “He texted her, ‘Get all that Hermès stuff now. This is your job. We have to do this, or else the money goes bye bye. Get it?’” (Katie Ring, 22:28)

  • Jury saw incomplete, incoherent “Conquest” footage; experts testified no finished show existed.

• Arguments

  • Prosecution: Focused on the “simple timeline”—Netflix paid $11M for completion; show wasn’t finished; money never spent as promised.
  • Defense: Framed case as a high-stakes business/creative dispute, warning that criminalizing failure could “affect artistic risk taking across the industry”.

• Verdict

  • On December 11, 2025, Carl Rinsch was found guilty of:

    • One count of wire fraud (max 20 yrs)
    • One count of money laundering (max 20 yrs)
    • Five counts of monetary transactions with criminally derived property (max 10 yrs each)

  • Sentencing set for April 17, 2026; Rinsch is out on bond awaiting sentencing.

  • Memorable closing thought:

    “There is a point where failure stops being creative and starts being criminal.” (Katie Ring, 24:57)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Rinsch’s deceptive communications:

  “He went as far as to send messages to Netflix executive Cindy Holland characterizing the project as awesome and moving forward really well, all while allegedly failing to disclose that millions of dollars intended for production had been lost…” (Katie Ring, 11:48)

• On the show’s fate:

  “Jurors also saw early Conquest footage to prove that what existed of the show wasn’t coherent or complete enough to be shaped into even a single episode, let alone a full season.” (Katie Ring, 22:57)

• On the broader industry impact:

  “Criminalizing that process, the defense warned, could affect artistic risk taking across the industry.” (Katie Ring, 23:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:20 – Rinsch’s Hollywood background and early career
• 06:43 – The making and pitch of “White Horse”
• 07:38 – Netflix’s $55 million investment and final cut privileges
• 10:51 – March 2020: Funds are diverted and risky financial trades begin
• 12:15 – Onset of erratic behavior, marriage dissolution
• 13:53 – Luxury personal spending breakdown
• 16:40 – Netflix arbitration and order for Rinsch to pay back $11.8M
• 20:20 – Arrest and federal indictment
• 21:35 – Defense’s insanity claim
• 22:28 – Assistant’s testimony about Brewster’s Millions reference
• 24:57 – Jury’s guilty verdict and host’s closing words
• 25:31 – Episode wrap-up and listener call to action

Summary Conclusion

This episode untangles the Hollywood dream, financial mismanagement, and criminal consequences of Carl Rinsch’s Netflix project gone awry. Through clear storytelling, Katie Ring reveals how industry trust and creative risk can cross the line into federal fraud—raising tough questions for the future of big-budget content and creative freedom.

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