The Justice Department has charged Carl Erik Rinsch, the director of 47 Ronin who struck a deal with Netflix to make a sci-fi series he never delivered, for defrauding the company out of $11 million.

In an indictment filed on Tuesday, prosecutors for the Southern District of New York said Rinsch spent funds meant for the show in risky securities trades. He then allegedly used millions of dollars in profits from the investments to sue Netflix for further payments to finish the show and purchase luxury goods.

Rinsch was charged with wire fraud, money laundering and multiple counts related to engaging in transactions stemming from illegal activity. If convicted, he faces a maximum term of 90 years in prison if the sentences are served consecutively. The director allegedly orchestrated a scheme to steal millions by soliciting a large investment from a video streaming service, claiming that money would be used to finance a television show that he was creating, said Matthew Podolsky, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement. But that was fiction. Rinsch instead allegedly used the funds on personal expenses and investments, including highly speculative options and cryptocurrency trading.

Netflix, which declined to comment, wasnt identified by prosecutors as the defrauded company, but the indictment refers to White Horse, whose script was acquired by Netflix, reported The New York Times. Around 2017, Rinsch began filming the series about a scientist who invents a humanlike species that turn against their creators. He completed six shortform episodes of the series using his own money and investments from various production companies, which were then used to pitch studios for funds to finish the first season, prosecutors say.

In 2020, Netflix sent Rinsch an additional $11 million in funds at his request to complete the series, according to the indictment. It was meant to be used for various pre and postproduction projects, including paying crew and editing footage that had already been shot.

But prosecutor allege that Rinsch transferred the money, wired to his production banner, to his personal brokerage account. In less than two months, he lost more than half of the funds trading in risky investments, the indictment says, before using the remainder to purchase cryptocurrency. Rinsch proceeded to make millions of dollars, which he used for personal expenses, including five Rolls-Royces, luxury mattresses and furniture, and to pay lawyers for his divorce.

Rinsch never finished White Horse, instead opting to sue Netflix for more than $14 million in additional funds he said he was contractually obligated to. Last year, an arbitrator ruled that he owed the company nearly $9 million, the Times reported.