Los Angeles, USA — Five men — including a Nigerian national — were arrested in the Central District of California on Wednesday over alleged ties to a sprawling fraud network that German authorities say siphoned more than €300 million from thousands of victims.
Those detained by the U.S. Marshals Service and presented in federal court are Medhat Mourid (Woodland Hills), Andrew Garroni (Los Angeles), Guy Mizrachi (Agoura Hills), Ardeshir Akhavan (Irvine) and Tunde Benak (Irvine). Germany is seeking their extradition.
According to German prosecutors, the ring ran a sophisticated operation that generated millions of recurring micro-charges on debit and credit cards — typically under €50 — masked as payments to fictitious merchants to avoid detection. The group allegedly propped up the ruse with invitation-only websites accessible via direct links or unique URLs.
Investigators say the network collaborated with German payment processors, including executives and compliance staff, to push the bogus transactions through, effectively building a parallel “shadow financial system.” Several current and former employees of those processors were also detained in coordinated actions.
The U.S. Department of Justice said its Office of International Affairs worked with German counterparts to meet extradition requirements. The California arrests coincided with searches and related arrests across Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the UK, Canada, and Singapore.
The operation was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli (CDCA), and U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces S. Serralta.
If extradited and convicted in Germany, the suspects could face lengthy prison terms and asset forfeiture tied to proceeds of the alleged scheme. Authorities urged potential victims to scrutinize bank statements for small, recurring charges linked to unfamiliar merchants and to report discrepancies promptly.
