Netflix is accusing Conquest director Carl Erik Rinsch of spending $4 million of the series’ budget on the purchase of Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, Dogecoin (DOGE).
According to The New York Times, Netflix’s budget money, which was spent by director Carl Erik Rinsch, famous for the film 47 Ronin, was intended to finance the science fiction series Conquest, but was instead used to make investments in cryptocurrency.
As per the New York Times report, Netflix allocated roughly $55 million for the creation of the new series. At first, however, the company only gave the project team $44.3 million. Later, Rinsch insisted the streaming giant allocate an additional $11 million, which he claimed was needed for props.
The director then decided to spend the additional $11 million issued by the company on investments, according to the New York Times report. Of the additional budget, he allegedly spent $10.5 million for shares in unknown entities, incurring at least $6 million in losses. Next, the director switched to investing in cryptocurrency, with only about $4 million remaining from the additional $11 million extra budget. He reportedly decided to invest the rest in DOGE through the Kraken crypto exchange, liquidating his position in May 2021, netting him $23 million in profits, per the New York Times.
According to a forensic accountant hired by the director’s ex-wife for an unrelated divorce proceeding, Rinsch spent almost $9 million of his earnings on luxury furniture, designer clothes, watches worth more than $380,000, five Rolls-Royce cars, and a Ferrari.
Rinsch claims that all purchases were made as props for Conquest.
As of the time of writing, legal proceedings are ongoing between the director and Netflix.
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