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47 ronin Director Karl-Erik Reinsch was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison for defrauding Netflix of $11 million out of a deal with the company to produce a sci-fi series he never delivered.
A Manhattan jury last year found Rensch guilty of wire fraud, money laundering and multiple counts of engaging in illegal cash transactions. He spent the money allocated for a series entitled White horse In risky stock trades, using profits from those investments to sue Netflix for more payments for ending the show and purchasing luxury goods.
Reinsch faced a maximum sentence of 90 years, and federal prosecutors recommended a 60-month prison sentence. Instead, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff imposed a sentence at the minimum sentencing guidelines after evidence of an untreated mental health condition emerged.
“Inappropriate medication that Mr. Rench received may have played a role,” Rakoff said at the hearing, according to Inner City Press. “But he was determined to lie to get big money from Netflix, and cover it up through money laundering and lies. This was presented to the court through his testimony. Therefore, imprisonment is sought.”
US Attorney Jay Clutton stressed, in a statement, that “today’s ruling sends a deterrent message: fraud will not be tolerated.”
On top of the prison time, Wrench was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay Netflix $11 million in restitution.
Evidence of Wrench’s mental health problems was presented publicly to the court after the principal’s conviction.
“Beginning in 2019, family members, friends, and colleagues noticed significant changes in his thinking, communication, and behavior,” Daniel Rensch, the principal’s brother, wrote in a letter to the court. He added: “By late 2019, the impact on Karl’s psyche was clear. His emails had become strange and disturbing, indicating that he was no longer thinking clearly.”
Mike Seed, a screenwriter who has known Wrench since they were children, pointed to social media posts in 2020 in which the director claimed to have resolved aspects of the pandemic. When they talked, Wrench said he could communicate with “divine powers.”
Jesse Warfield, Wrench’s former assistant, added: “What I was seeing was neither distraction nor stress. It felt like a disconnect from reality, and I believe that disconnect was the root cause of everything that followed.”
Keanu Reeves, who played the title role 47 roninThe court asked for leniency. A letter from the actor reads: “I am, of course, not a therapist or psychologist. I write instead as an artistic counterpart to Karl, and as a friend. In my opinion, Karl can self-destruct by inflating the scale, scope and spectacle of what has been negotiated, and thus putting himself and his counterparties at odds.”
Wrench is never finished White horseInstead he chose to sue Netflix for more than $14 million in additional money that he said he was contractually obligated to. Last year, an arbitrator ruled against the director, according to court filings.
Netflix is looking to recover more than $4.4 million in legal fees incurred during the litigation.
