A Malibu man who fled the U.S. to avoid an expected 15-year prison sentence after a fraud conviction last yearhas been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list.
Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 65, was added to the list after fleeing to Mexico before his sentencing, and is currently avoiding his sentence in his native Germany, according to officials.
The FBI offers a reward of up to $150,000 in exchange for “information that leads to the arrest and conviction” of any member of the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list.
“Southern California is a target-rich environment for fraudsters — among them Bernhard Fritsch, who was convicted of ripping off investors of millions and fleeing the United States prior to his sentencing,” Patrick Grandy, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said in a statement. “Regardless of how long it takes for Mr. Fritsch to serve his sentence, the FBI will unrelentingly seek his whereabouts.”
Before fleeing the U.S., Fritsch had been living in Malibu, where prosecutors say he defrauded investors of $20 million they put into his Santa Monica-based tech company StarClub — but he instead used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included a Rolls-Royce, a mansion by Carbon Beach and a yacht.
A federal jury convicted him of wire fraud in April 2025. He was free on bond at the time of his conviction, and instead of returning to court for sentencing in June 2025, he fled to Mexico, authorities said.
In September of 2025, Mexican law enforcement detained Fritsch, who was found with false identification that violated the country’s immigration laws, the FBI said in a news release. He was released from custody and ordered to check in with a Mexican immigration court every two weeks, but instead, he traveled to Germany, FBI officials said.
A few weeks later, Fritsch was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in federal prison, fined $35,000 and ordered to pay $26,806,901 in restitution.
In June, Fritsch’s girlfriend, Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, pleaded guilty to one felony count of accessory after the fact, after prosecutors say she helped Fritsch flee the country.
The post Convicted Malibu scammer added to FBI’s ‘Most Wanted Fraudsters’ list after fleeing U.S. appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
