Netflix gave him $11 million to make his dream show. Instead, prosecutors say he spent it on Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, and wildly expensive mattresses

Instead, federal prosecutors say, Wrench transferred nearly all of that money into personal brokerage accounts, lost half of it on speculative stock trades, made it back through cryptocurrency, and then went on a massive shopping spree that included five Rolls Royces, one Ferrari, and two handmade Swedish mattresses that together cost $638,000.

Rensch, 48, attended his trial in a Manhattan federal courtroom early Tuesday, where he faced charges of wire fraud, money laundering and illegal cash transactions that carry a combined maximum penalty of 90 years in prison. He pleaded not guilty and declined to discuss a plea deal. His lead attorney, Daniel Adam McGinnis, did not immediately respond luckAsked for comment, but he previously said Business insiderHe added: “Mr. Wrench looks forward to the opportunity to show that these accusations are baseless and that he is completely innocent.”

The “white horse” that never existed

In 2018, Netflix beat out Amazon, HBO, Apple and others to get White Horse — later renamed Conquest — a dystopian thriller about artificial humanoid beings. actor Keanu Reeves, who starred in Wrench’s only feature film, the 2013 box office bomb “47 Ronin,” served as an early investor and mentor in the project. according to New York TimesNetflix agreed to pay $61.2 million for the rights to the series, and also gave Rinsch something it has previously given only a few directors: a final cut. In other words, he will have the final say on which version of his show will be broadcast

But the production ran into problems almost immediately. Wrench exceeded budgets while filming in Brazil, Uruguay, and Hungary, and by December 2019, filming had stopped with no episodes completed. Netflix executives agreed to provide an additional $11 million in hopes of saving the project, according to court documents

Instead, prosecutors allege, Rensch transferred nearly all of the $11 million to his personal brokerage account within weeks of receiving it, and lost more than half by trading speculative options on a biopharmaceutical company and an S&P 500 ETF — all while telling Cindy Holland, then Netflix CEO, that the venture was “cool” and “a good game-changer.” He later invested the remaining funds in cryptocurrency and made nearly $10 million in gains, which prosecutors say he spent on luxury goods, credit card debt, a divorce attorney, and legal fees incurred in suing Netflix for additional payments.

Reinsch privately paid for two mattresses — a $439,900 black Hästens “Grand Vividus” mattress and a $210,400 white “Vividus” mattress, two of the most expensive mattresses in the world, both custom-made in Sweden — but later claimed the beds were intended as props for a second season that Netflix never ordered.

“a state of psychosis”

Wrench’s defense indicated that he might argue that his mental condition rendered him incapable of forming the requisite intent to defraud. Court filings indicate his attorneys plan to call psychiatrist Dr. John Mariani, who is expected to testify that Rensch was in a “state of psychosis” during the relevant period, likely exacerbated by medical stimulants and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the defense stated that it “makes no argument or presents any evidence that Mr. Wrench was insane or insane.”

Netflix has already won an $11.8 million civil arbitration award against Wrench, whose public defenders now describe him as “indigent” and “unemployed.” The trial before U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff is expected to last two weeks and will include testimony from former Netflix executives, including Cindy Holland, who initially took over the project when she served as vice president of original content. Holland has since been hired by Paramount as the legacy studio moves to reshape itself into a streaming-era competitor to Netflix, with both reportedly making a bid for Warner Brothers Discovery.

​For this story, luck Use generative AI to help with the rough draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publication.