The FBI released a German-language wanted poster for Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, a convicted Santa Monica tech CEO the agency believes is hiding near Munich.
The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office announced Wednesday, Sept. 9, that posters for Fritsch, 65, are now available in both English and German. The agency is offering up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Fritsch founded StarClub Inc., a Santa Monica company that pitched software called StarSite to help celebrities earn money from brand endorsements. Federal prosecutors say he defrauded investors of more than $20 million between 2014 and 2017 by lying about the company's finances, including falsely claiming $15 million in revenue in 2015 and touting deals with major media companies such as Disney.
At least $7.3 million of investors' money went toward Fritsch's personal expenses, according to the FBI. Those expenses included mortgage payments, luxury vehicles and a yacht. The FBI seized a McLaren, a Rolls-Royce and the yacht.
A federal jury in Los Angeles convicted Fritsch of wire fraud in April 2025. He fled to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, in June 2025 while awaiting sentencing. Mexican authorities detained him in September 2025 carrying false identification, then released him with orders to check in with immigration court every two weeks.
He skipped those check-ins and boarded a Lufthansa flight from Mexico City to Munich on Oct. 6, 2025, Business Insider reported.
On Oct. 20, 2025, a federal judge sentenced Fritsch in absentia to 15 years in prison, fined him $35,000 and ordered $26,806,901 in restitution.
Germany's constitution generally prohibits the extradition of its own citizens, a legal barrier that complicates the FBI's pursuit. Fritsch is a German national born in Landshut.
Fritsch was added to the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list, a program launched in June 2026 to generate leads on fraud fugitives. When the FBI announced that addition on Sept. 3, Patrick Grandy, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, called Southern California "a target-rich environment for fraudsters."
Fritsch's girlfriend, Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, of Malibu, pleaded guilty in June 2026 to a felony count of being an accessory after the fact. Prosecutors say she lied to FBI agents and made payments totaling roughly $7,475 to a third party sheltering Fritsch. She also covered a $534 hotel charge for him in Mexico.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled Manera's sentencing for Oct. 5. She faces up to five years in federal prison.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Fritsch's appeal in April 2026 because of his fugitive status. An Aug. 21 deadline for him to surrender and reinstate the appeal passed without any reported action.
Anyone with information about Fritsch can contact the FBI's tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
