WASHINGTON
Federal authorities in California arrested five fugitives wanted by Germany for allegedly orchestrating a massive fraud that stole more than $300 million through fake credit card charges and illicit payment networks, officials announced Wednesday.
The suspects — Californians Medhat Mourid, Andrew Garroni, Guy Mizrachi, Ardeshir Akhavan, and Canadian Tunde Benak — were taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service and appeared in federal court in Los Angeles.
Germany is seeking their extradition.
Prosecutors allege the group created fictitious online merchants and billed small recurring charges—typically under €50—to avoid detection. These payments were funneled through corrupt German payment processors, forming a “shadow financial system.”
The U.S. Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs coordinated the arrests with German prosecutors.
The takedown coincided with related actions in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the U.K., Canada, and Singapore.