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The FBI has added StarClub founder and CEO Bernhard Eugen Fritsch to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list, offering a $150,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. Fritsch was convicted of wire fraud in 2025 after allegedly misleading investors over a $35 million fundraising effort and later fleeing the US before sentencing.

The FBI has added Santa Monica-based tech CEO Bernhard Eugen Fritsch to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list, issuing a 'Lookout' notice that details his conviction, his flight from the US, and a $150,000 (roughly Rs. 1.32 crore) reward for information leading to his arrest.

Fritsch, founder and CEO of StarClub, is accused of defrauding investors after raising roughly $35 million for the company between January 2014 and August 2017, TOI reports. StarClub claimed to have developed software and an app to help celebrities and social media influencers monetise brand endorsements. According to the FBI, Fritsch claimed to have deals with major global media and entertainment companies and misrepresented the company's financial performance to induce investments. At least $7.3 million of investor money was allegedly diverted to Fritsch's personal expenses, including mortgage payments, residential costs and luxury vehicles.

Conviction and flight

Fritsch was found guilty of wire fraud in a California court in April 2025. In June 2025, ahead of a bond revocation hearing, he fled to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in Mexico. A federal arrest warrant was subsequently issued on June 3, 2025, by the US District Court, Central District of California, after he failed to appear for his Post-Conviction Bond Revocation Hearing.