MALIBU—Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 65, the Malibu tech executive and convicted fraudster, has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list. The bureau is offering a $150,000 reward in exchange for information that leads to his arrest.
Fritsch was the founder and chief executive of StarClub Inc, a Santa Monica-based tech company. He convinced investors to back an app he claimed would help celebrities and influencers monetize brand endorsements and share ad revenue. At least $7.3 million of investor money was used to fund Fritsch’s personal expenses such as mortgage payments, residential expenses, and luxury vehicles. In April 2025, Fritsch was found guilty of wire fraud in a California court for lying to investors about StarClub’s financial performance between 2014 and 2017.
Instead of facing a bond revocation hearing ahead of his sentencing, Fritsch fled to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico on June 2, 2025. He used investor money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including a McLaren, a Rolls-Royce, yacht upgrades, and renovations to his mansion near Carbon Beach in Malibu. Authorities seized the cars and the yacht, which are now subject to forfeiture proceedings.
In September 2025, Mexican authorities detained Fritsch after he was found carrying false identification in violation of the country’s immigration laws. Authorities released him and ordered him to check in with immigration court every two weeks. He fled to Munich, Germany on October 6, 2025.
A Los Angeles federal judge sentenced Fritsch in absentia the following month to 15 years in federal prison. He was fined $35,000 and later ordered to pay more than $26.8 million in restitution. Prosecutors estimate his scheme caused roughly $25 million in victim losses.
FBI Los Angeles assistant director Patrick Grandy indicated the FBI will continue pursuing Fritsch, no matter how long it takes. Fritsch was placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters list when it officially launched in June 2026 under FBI director Kash Patel. At a press conference announcing the list, Patel said, “We rely on you, our best form of information is the American public, help us apprehend more fraudsters.”
Fritsch’s girlfriend, Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, of Malibu, pleaded guilty in June to being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors indicated she made at least 10 payments totaling roughly $7,475 to a third-party sheltering Fritsch in Mexico, authorized a $534 hotel charge for his stay. She searched online for ways to move him from Mexico to Germany. Weist is scheduled for sentencing on October 5, 2026, and faces up to 5 years in prison.
