Keanu Reeves is seeking leniency for Carl Rinsch, the director of “47 Ronin” who faces years in prison for swindling Netflix out of $11 million.
In a letter to Judge Jed Rakoff, Reeves called the director an “exceptional artist” and urged the judge to show “leniency and mercy” in sentencing him.
Rinsch was convicted in December on federal charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making illegal transactions. Prosecutors alleged that he used Netflix’s money — intended to fund the sci-fi series “White Horse” — to make lavish purchases, including luxury cars, high-end mattresses, and crypto investments.
Rinsch directed Reeves in “47 Ronin,” and the actor later served as a mentor and initial investor on “White Horse.” In the letter, Reeves acknowledged that he is not a psychologist or a therapist, but spoke to Rinsch’s motivations as an “artistic peer.”
“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 wrote. “I do not intend to share this as a diminishment of what he has been found to have done, but offer this solely as perhaps an insight into why.”
