Instead of being completed as planned, a science-fiction drama that was scheduled to go online turned into a misappropriation of funds. According to the United States prosecution, the director and author, Carl Erik Rinsch, transferred $11 million originally spent on the production of the drama to high-risk transactions and personal consumption, which culminated in a criminal verdict.
The money was used to finish the shoot.
According to the prosecution, Rinsch reached an agreement with a subscription stream media platform in 2018 to advance the production of the science fiction show White House. Between 2018 and 2019, the project is said to have received approximately $44 million in funding.
Since then, Rinsch has requested an additional $11 million between late 2019 and early 2020, on the grounds that the project still requires follow-up funding. Fluent Media subsequently approved funding and transferred it to a company account under its control on 6 March 2020.
Transfers to personal accounts within days
The prosecution claims that the money was transferred between various bank accounts shortly after its arrival and subsequently entered a personal voucher account. Court documents show that Rinsch first used funds for speculative stock options.
The related transactions quickly showed losses. According to the prosecution ' s disclosure, less than two months after the receipt of funds, more than half of the money has been lost.
Redirect remaining funds to encrypted transactions and luxury consumption
The prosecution also stated that the remaining funds were subsequently used for encrypted money investments, personal expenses and luxury purchases, rather than for the production of the series itself. It is mentioned that these expenditures include consumption such as luxury cars.
The court finally sentenced Rinsch to 30 months ' imprisonment. In addition to the sentence, the judgement included three years of supervised release, $11 million in recovery and $700 in mandatory special assessment.