Keanu Reeves backs leniency for Carl Rinsch after $11 million fraud conviction
Keanu Reeves asked a federal judge to give carl rinsch leniency after Rinsch was convicted of defrauding Netflix of $11 million. The letter arrives before a June 29 sentencing hearing, with prosecutors and defense lawyers now pushing opposite outcomes on prison time.
Reeves and Jed Rakoff
Reeves wrote to US District Judge Jed Rakoff on Tuesday night, describing himself as “an artistic peer of Carl's, and as a friend.” He also said Rinsch tends to “self-sabotage” by pushing the boundaries of negotiated agreements. That framing gives the defense a high-profile character witness, but it does not erase the underlying conviction or the size of the loss at issue.
The actor tied his appeal to their shared history on the 2013 film “47 Ronin,” which Rinsch directed. Reeves and Rinsch remained friends after the movie flopped at the box office, and Reeves said “White Horse,” in the form he saw it, was “a superb and visionary work of art, although unfinished.”
White Horse and the money trail
A Manhattan federal jury found Rinsch guilty after he took millions of dollars to make the sci-fi epic “White Horse” and never finished the project. Trial evidence included preliminary episodes and concept art, and prosecutors said he spent the money on more than 480 food deliveries from Postmates and Uber Eats, a $439,000 handmade Swedish mattress, and other luxury goods.
A Netflix executive testified that she greenlit “White Horse” after reading the script at Reeves’ home, which gives Reeves’ letter unusual weight even as it supports a defendant now facing sentencing. Reeves also wrote that Rinsch has brought “creative inspiration” and “exceptional joy and warmth” to people around him.
June 29 at sentencing
Rinsch’s attorneys have asked for a sentence without any prison time, while federal prosecutors are scheduled to file their own sentencing recommendation in June. Netflix is also seeking $3.4 million in legal fees for a related civil dispute, on top of $11 million in restitution.
That leaves June 29 as the point where the court has to sort sympathy from sentencing math. Reeves has already done what a friend can do: put his name on the record for leniency. The judge still has to decide whether the case ends with prison, a lighter punishment, or something in between.
