The United States has arrested five fugitives — including a Nigerian — allegedly linked to a sprawling fraud network accused of defrauding thousands of victims of more than €300 million in Germany.
The arrests were carried out in the Central District of California at the request of the German government, which is now seeking their extradition.
The suspects were detained by the U.S. Marshals Service and appeared in federal court on Wednesday.
They were identified as Medhat Mourid of Woodland Hills; Andrew Garroni of Los Angeles; Guy Mizrachi of Agoura Hills; Ardeshir Akhavan of Irvine; and Tunde Benak, also of Irvine.
According to German authorities, the group allegedly operated a sophisticated scheme that created millions of recurring fraudulent debit and credit card charges disguised as payments to fictitious merchants.
Investigators said the transactions were deliberately kept below €50 to avoid raising suspicion among victims.
The fraudsters also set up fake websites accessible only through direct links or unique URLs to support the deception.
The network allegedly collaborated with German payment service processors — including their executives and compliance officers — to ensure the fraudulent payments were approved.
Some former employees and executives of these German-based processors were also detained. German prosecutors say the conspiracy ultimately created a parallel “shadow financial system” within the country.
The U.S. Department of Justice said its Office of International Affairs worked closely with German authorities to coordinate the arrests and ensure the legal requirements for extradition were fulfilled.
The operation coincided with related arrests and searches across Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California; and U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta jointly announced the development.
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