Netflix Gave This Guy $61 Million to Make a Sci-Fi Series. He Bought Rolls-Royces, Mattresses, and Crypto Instead.

Carl Erik Rinsch had directed exactly one movie in his life — 2013's 47 Ronin, a Keanu Reeves samurai fantasy that bombed so hard it nearly ended his career. But in the freewheeling, cash-splashing chaos of the streaming wars, even a flop could get you a second act.

In 2018, Netflix paid Rinsch a staggering $61 million to make a sci-fi series called White Horse (later renamed Conquest). The deal gave him complete creative control and final cut — an unheard-of privilege, especially for a filmmaker with zero TV experience and just one cinematic dud to his name.

What did Netflix get for its money?

Absolutely nothing.

Not a single episode was delivered. Not even a rough cut. What they did get, allegedly, was an unhinged series of texts from Rinsch claiming he had discovered the secret mechanism of COVID-19 transmission — and the ability to predict earthquakes and lightning strikes.

After blowing through $44 million in early production, Rinsch went back to Netflix and asked for another $11 million to "finish" the show. But according to a newly unsealed federal indictment, he didn't spend a dime of it on production. Instead, he went on a jaw-dropping spree:

• $2.4 million on five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari
• $3.7 million on furniture and antiques — including $638,000 on two mattresses
• $652,000 on watches and designer clothes
• $395,000 on luxury hotels
• $1 million+ on legal fees — including suing Netflix for more money

All told, Netflix ultimately wrote off more than $55 million on the failed project. In 2023, the company won an arbitration case against Rinsch, who was ordered to pay $11.8 million in damages. He hasn't paid a cent.

John Sciulli/Getty Images

Arrest and Fallout

On March 18, 2025, Rinsch was arrested in Los Angeles. He now faces multiple felony charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, and five counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. If convicted, the 47-year-old could spend decades in prison.

The indictment paints a picture not just of reckless spending — but of mental unraveling. During development, Rinsch sent bizarre messages to Netflix executives about viruses and natural disasters. At the same time, he insisted the show was "awesome and moving forward really well," all while living in five-star hotels and surrounding himself with luxury goods he later claimed were "props."

The arbitrator didn't buy it. Nor, it seems, did the FBI.

A Symbol of Streaming-Era Excess

Rinsch's implosion isn't just a cautionary tale about one director's delusion — it's a symbol of an industry that, for a few years, lost all sense of discipline. In the race to outspend and outproduce rivals, companies like Netflix wrote massive checks with little oversight. Conquest wasn't just a bad investment. It was a $61 million ghost.

And in a final twist of irony, the unfinished show that never aired may still end up on Netflix — as a true-crime documentary chronicling one of the most outrageous Hollywood hustles in recent memory.