On a sunny time successful April, visits a hilltop adjacent Lake Starnberg successful Germany. After a hike against the backdrop of the Bavarian upland panorama, he treats himself to a portion of barroom pinch vanilla crystal pick astatine the Forsthaus Ilkahöhe, a celebrated hikers' inn. Later, he uploads photos of the outing to Instagram, gushing complete the position of the snowy Zugspitze mountain.
Does personification who is connected the tally and wanted by the American national constabulary station thing for illustration that? It is, by far, not the only mobility raised by this bizarre case. A $150,000 bounty, a severed ankle monitor, flight from US authorities, and an apprehension successful Mexico — the Bernhard Fritsch record sounds for illustration a Hollywood script.
On Thursday, the FBI added the 65-year-old German to its "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list.
Fritsch studied audio engineering successful Berlin successful the 1980s earlier moving to New York successful the 1990s. With his institution MCY, he wanted to waste euphony complete the net — benignant of a precursor to the streaming elephantine Spotify astatine an early shape of the dot-com economy.
He told a newsman from the German Manager Magazin successful 2000 that he had already won complete Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Luciano Pavarotti, and the Backstreet Boys to his idea. "You wouldn't judge who's already walked done that door," he said astatine the time. He had met Michael Jackson successful Munich the erstwhile year.
Sometime successful the early 2010s, Fritsch relocated from New York to Santa Monica, California, wherever he founded the institution StarClub. Its app, StarSite, was meant to thief celebrities and influencers monetize their scope done advertising.
Between 2014 and 2017, according to national officials, Fritsch raised betwixt $20 cardinal and $30 cardinal from investors. To raise that much, Fritsch apparently relied connected salient connections. In California, he was seen arsenic a skilled usability down the scenes, Los Angeles Magazine reported.
While spending clip successful Germany, the Bavarian had cultivated ties to the world of celebrities, too: Photos show him pinch three-time Wimbledon-winner Boris Becker — who successful 2022 was sentenced to situation successful the UK for taxation evasion — and successful 2016, Fritsch walked the reddish carpet pinch character Wesley Snipes astatine Bertelsmann's summertime statement successful Berlin.
He besides courted proximity to show business successful the U.S. In 2014, for example, he had character Tyrese Gibson (best known from the "Fast & Furious" movies) big a backstage StarClub statement for him. Singer Enrique Iglesias was besides linked to the project, and actresses Caitlin O'Connor and Elise Neal appeared astatine promotional events. According to the website Courthouse News, 1 investor later claimed successful a suit that Fritsch owed him $750,000 for arranging contacts pinch Jessica Simpson.
In 2017, Fritsch was criminally charged by national prosecutors who alleged he made mendacious statements to investors astir the app, claiming his institution would onslaught deals pinch awesome media companies for illustration Disney and that acquisition offers were forthcoming.
At slightest $7.3 cardinal of investor money is alleged to person ended up successful his individual accounts alternatively — backing a McLaren, a Rolls-Royce, a yacht, and a owe connected his villa adjacent the celebrated Carbon Beach successful Malibu. In April past year, aft a nine-day trial, a assemblage recovered him blameworthy connected 1 of 2 counts of ligament fraud, a verdict for which he could person faced up to 20 years successful prison.
And then, suddenly, Fritsch was gone. In June 2025, according to the FBI, he trim disconnected his court-ordered ankle show and fled to Mexico. This is peculiarly striking fixed that his attorney, Kirk Schenck, had based on location was nary formation risk, since Fritsch would beryllium leaving his 2 children behind.
According to Mexican authorities, the entrepreneur turned up, of each places, successful the authorities of Sinaloa — considered a stronghold of Mexico's powerful supplier cartels. An apprehension warrant from Los Angeles followed, and American officials alerted Mexican police.
In September of past year, Mexican authorities caught him — allegedly carrying forged documents. After his arrest, Mexican constabulary released him connected the information that he cheque successful astatine the position each 2 weeks. Authorities opportunity Fritsch utilized the opportunity to recreation to Mexico City, wherever successful early October he boarded a Lufthansa formation to Munich. The FBI believes he has been successful Bavaria ever since.
In his absence, a national judge successful Los Angeles sentenced him successful absentia to 15 years successful prison, a $35,000 fine, and astir $26.8 cardinal successful restitution. Fritsch request not fearfulness extradition. Article 16 of Germany's law Law forbids the extradition of German citizens. So arsenic agelong arsenic he doesn't time off the country, nary US apprehension warrant tin scope him.
Fritsch's partner, erstwhile character Lucy Weist, pleaded blameworthy successful June of this twelvemonth to being an accessory aft the fact, and she now faces up to 5 years successful prison.
FBI Director Kash Patel successful June launched the "Most Wanted Fraudsters" database arsenic a counterpart to the classical most-wanted database — this 1 for white-collar criminals. The goal, Patel said, is to clasp "the worst of the worst" accountable. Patrick Grandy, the FBI supplier starring the investigation successful Los Angeles, describes California arsenic particularly fertile crushed for fraudsters — and has made clear that the hunt for Fritsch continues. The feds person put up a $150,000 bounty.
A petition for remark sent to Fritsch via his Instagram floor plan was not answered.
Since his station astir the upland locomotion successful April, Fritsch hasn't uploaded thing caller to his profile. He does look to person been indulging successful aged memories from clip to time. He has captioned respective posts "Throwback": One, a photograph from 1999 showing him pinch Michael Jackson, different from 2001 showing him shaking hands pinch Pope John Paul II astatine the Vatican.
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