Tech entrepreneur with Hollywood connections wanted by FBI after $35 million fraud conviction

Bernhard Eugen Fritsch went from a tech entrepreneur photographed with Hollywood figures to a fugitive on the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list. The FBI is offering up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

Fritsch, a German-born former chief executive, founded StarClub Inc. in California. Its StarSite software and app were presented as tools that would help celebrities and social media influencers earn money from brand endorsements. From January 2014 to August 2017, the FBI says, he raised about $35 million from investors.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Fritsch overstated StarClub's prospects, including claims that it had, or was pursuing, agreements with major global media and entertainment companies. His links to the entertainment world helped his pitch. He was photographed with Michael Jackson, Boris Becker and Wesley Snipes, while Tyrese Gibson hosted a StarClub event and Enrique Iglesias was linked to the venture.

Prosecutors alleged that the investment money was not used as represented. At least $7.3 million allegedly went to Fritsch's personal expenses, including mortgage payments, residential costs and luxury vehicles. Reports also said the money helped finance expensive cars, a yacht and his Malibu property.

A California jury convicted Fritsch of wire fraud after a nine-day trial in April 2025. He fled instead of attending a post-conviction bond revocation hearing. The FBI says he cut off his court-ordered ankle monitor in June, escaped to Los Mochis in Mexico, and was detained there in September while carrying false identification. After his release from immigration custody, he was ordered to report to Mexican authorities every two weeks, but allegedly fled again.

Fritsch travelled to Munich on October 6, 2025. Two weeks later, a US federal judge sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison, fined him $35,000 and ordered $26.8 million in restitution. The FBI believes he remains in Bavaria. His German nationality and Germany's constitutional protections for its citizens create an obstacle for US authorities seeking to bring him back.