Malibu Woman Pleads Guilty to Helping Her Fraudster Boyfriend Escape Incarceration and Sentencing in His U.S. Criminal Case

LOS ANGELES - A Malibu woman pleaded guilty today to helping her convicted fraudster boyfriend hide from federal law enforcement, hide out in Mexico, and then later flee to his native Germany to avoid incarceration and sentencing in his U.S. criminal case.

Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, a.k.a. "Lucy Weist," pleaded guilty to one felony count of being an accessory after the fact.

According to her plea agreement, in April 2025, a federal jury found Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 64, then of Malibu, guilty of one count of wire fraud.

From 2014 to 2017, Fritsch defrauded investors out of more than $20 million by lying to them about his technology company's financial performance related to a software application designed to help celebrities and social media influencers monetize their brand endorsements, according to evidence presented at a nine-day trial.

Manera was present in the courtroom when the guilty verdict against Fritsch was read. Fritsch was free on bond at the time. A hearing related to Fritsch's potential remand into federal custody was scheduled for June 2, 2025, and he was to be sentenced at a later date.

On June 2, 2025, Fritsch fled the United States by car and crossed the international border into Mexico to avoid being taken into custody at the June 2 hearing and avoid serving any prison sentence related to his fraud conviction.

From June 2025 to September 2025, Manera assisted Fritsch with the purpose of hindering and preventing Fritsch's apprehension and punishment, including by lying to FBI special agents that she hadn't spoken to Fritsch within a day of his scheduled June 2 hearing.

Manera also made at least 10 payments from June 2025 to September 2025 totaling approximately $7,475 to a third party, knowing that Fritsch was hiding out at that third party's home. She also authorized a $534 charge to her bank account for Fritsch to stay at a hotel in Mexico.

In September 2025, she searched the internet on Fritsch's behalf for information on how he could leave Mexico and travel to his native Germany. Germany generally prohibits the extradition of its citizens.

In October 2025, Fritsch was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in federal prison, fined $35,000, and ordered to pay $26,806,901 in restitution. In April 2026, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Fritsch's appeal due to his fugitive status, because a fugitive criminal defendant is generally not entitled to a decision on the merits of his claims. If Fritsch surrenders to authorities by August 21, 2026, he may move to reinstate the appeal.

United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled an October 5 sentencing hearing, at which time Manera will face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

The FBI is investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Monica E. Tait of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.