Keanu Reeves sent a letter of support to director Carl Rinsch who was found guilty of stealing $11 million from Netflix.
“I am writing in support of Carl Rinsch in connection with his upcoming sentencing. I do not know the details of this case,” Reeves, 61, wrote in a letter to the judge earlier this month, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, May 28. “But based upon what I do know about Carl, I did want to take the opportunity to write on his behalf, in the hope that his sentence might be tempered with measures of leniency and mercy as well as justice.”
Reeves explained he has known Rinsch, 50, for “about 15 years” as they previously worked together on the movie 47 Ronin in 2011. The fantasy film marked Rinsch’s directorial debut and was released in 2013, starring Reeves as a samurai named Kai.
“We stayed in touch after production, later becoming friends,” he continued. “I attended his wedding in Uruguay in 2014. Over the years I would periodically visit Carl and his wife at their Los Angeles home and catch up on and discuss life and art.”
The actor claimed that Rinsch showed him an incomplete version of a show titled White Horse, which was the project Netflix paid him to create but he never actually produced in full.
“In my opinion, Carl is an exceptional artist, and White Horse, in the form in which I saw it, was a superb and visionary work of art, although unfinished,” he wrote on May 1. “I am, of course, not a therapist or psychologist. I write instead as an artistic peer of Carl’s, and as a friend. In my opinion, Carl can self-sabotage by amplifying the scale, scope and landscape of what had been negotiated, accordingly placing himself and his counterparties at odds.
Reeves continued, “I do not intend to share this as an excuse or diminishment of what he has been found to have done, but offer this solely as perhaps an insight into why.”
Reeves concluded his letter to the judge asking for “leniency” toward Rinsch alongside “the punishment he will live with.”
Rinsch was working on a sci-fi series which earned interest from Netflix and Amazon. Netflix ultimately signed on to the project in 2018. However, Rinsch did not finish the show.
Last year, Rinsch was arrested in Los Angeles and indicted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in relation to the project. The filmmaker was charged with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed that Rinsch had received $11 million from Netflix to produce White Horse but he allegedly used the funds for personal investments instead. Netflix had given the director $44 million between 2018 and 2019. Rinsch allegedly requested an additional $11 million, which he received in 2020.
Prosecutors accused Rinsch of transferring the money to several accounts and that he allegedly spent the remaining sum on cryptocurrency, cars, antique furniture and more high end items. During the trial, Rinsch testified that his purchases were entirely legitimate and that items, like a Rolls Royce, were needed for the show.
Rinsch was convicted in December 2025 on charges of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million. His lawyer released a statement slamming the decision.
“I think the verdict was wrong and I fear that this could set a dangerous precedent for artists who become embroiled in contractual and creative disputes with their benefactors,” the statement read per Variety. “In this case one of the largest media companies in the world, finding themselves indicted by the federal government for fraud.”
Rinsch is scheduled to be sentenced on June 29.
