Keanu Reeves asks 'mercy' for director Carl Rinsch in Netflix fraud case

Keanu Reeves is standing by his former director Carl Rinsch amid the filmmaker's legal troubles.

Reeves, who worked with Rinsch on the 2013 film "47 Ronin," wrote a letter of support ahead of the director's sentencing in his fraud case, according to a memorandum filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, May 26.

"I do not know the details of this case," Reeves, 61, wrote in the letter, per court documents obtained by USA TODAY. "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."

Rinsch was arrested in West Hollywood last March on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, after prosecutors accused the director of defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars with the production of an unfinished series. He was found guilty on all counts in December, according to court records reviewed by USA TODAY.

According to Rinsch's indictment, Netflix paid $44 million between 2018 and 2019 for "White Horse," a sci-fi show from Rinsch that was to follow the creation of superintelligent clones. By 2020, the streamer paid an additional $11 million after Rinsch requested more funds and falsely claimed that this money would be used to complete production, prosecutors said at the time.

Reeves, who said he's known Rinsch for about 15 years, said the director showed him his work on "White Horse" during a visit to his Los Angeles home.

"In my opinion, Carl is an exceptional artist," Reeves wrote in his letter of support. "And 'White Horse,' in the form in which I saw it, was a superb and visionary work of art, although unfinished."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on Reeves' letter. USA TODAY has reached out to the actor's representatives for additional comment.

Rinsch allegedly transferred nearly all of his additional funds from Netflix into personal accounts and lost more than half of it after making a "number of extremely risky purchases of securities," prosecutors previously said. Additionally, Rinsch allegedly failed to inform Netflix he lost the money, instead telling the streamer the show was "moving forward really well."

The director then reportedly used the remaining money to speculate on cryptocurrency and on personal expenses, including five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari. Prosecutors said Rinsch never delivered a completed show, nor did he return the money to Netflix.

Reeves' collaboration with Rinsch, the action fantasy film "47 Ronin," bombed at the box office, grossing less than $40 million domestically against a reported budget of $175 million.

Reeves said his letter on Rinsch's case is not an "excuse or diminishment of what he has been found to have done," noting that he was allegedly part of a 2019 "intervention" attempt to help Rinsch get mental health care.

The "John Wick" star added that Rinsch has brought "exceptional joy and warmth to the people around him," including fostering "wonderful artistic environments where exceptional work was done with him."

"I am, of course, not a therapist or psychologist," Reeves wrote. "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."

Rinsch's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 29.

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY