5 Southern California suspects arrested for German fraud scheme that stole over €300 million from victims

Five Southern California residents were arrested for their alleged roles in a fraud scheme that stole over €300 million from victims in Germany.

The suspects are accused of creating a scheme that targeted their victims with millions of recurring debit and credit card charges that hit below €50 (around $57 USD) to avoid any detection or suspicion.

The charges were linked to fake or non-existent companies and used fictitious websites that were only accessible via direct links or URLs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“The operators of the network then colluded with German payment service processors – including their executives and compliance officers – to process these payments,” DOJ officials said.  “Former employees and executives of German payment processors are among those arrested.”

German authorities said the complex and widespread fraud scheme defrauded over €300 million (around $347 million USD) from victims and resulted in the creation of a shadow financial system in Germany.

On Nov. 5, federal officials announced five SoCal residents were arrested by U.S. Marshals in connection with the case:

• Medhat Mourid, of Woodland Hills
• Andrew Garroni, of Los Angeles
• Guy Mizrachi, of Agoura Hills
• Ardeshir Akhavan, of Irvine
• Tunde Benak, of Irvine

The U.S. suspects were taken into custody “contemporaneously with arrests and/or searches in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore,” the DOJ said.

After making their initial court appearances in the U.S., the suspects are expected to be extradited to Germany for prosecution, officials said.