U.S. @rrests Nigerian And Four Others Wanted By Germany For €300 Million Fr@ud

The United States @rrested five global fugitives, among them a Nigerian-Canadian named Tunde Benak, accused of masterminding a vast fr@ud operation in Germany.

The @rrest occurred at the behest of the Federal Republic of Germany, which has indicted the suspects for their involvement in a syndicate utilizing German payment service processors that sw!ndled thousands of v!ctims out of over €300 million and established a parallel financial structure in Germany.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli from the Central District of California, and Director Gadyaces S. Serralta from the U.S. Marshals Service released the information through a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

“Fulfilling its treaty commitments, the United States identified and @rrested the fugitives within the Central District of California for eventual extradition to Germany,” the statement declared.

Four American citizens living in California — Medhat Mourid, from Woodland Hills, Andrew Garroni, from Los Angeles, Guy Mizrachi, from Agoura Hills, Ardeshir Akhavan, from Irvine — along with Canadian national Tunde Benak, from Irvine, were @rrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and had their first appearances in federal court today.

Germany claims that the fugitives sw!ndled v!ctims in breach of German law by generating millions of repeated, fr@udulent debit or credit card transactions from fake merchants.

As per German officials, the defendants engineered a plot where they intentionally limited monthly charges on credit cards to under €50, to prevent v!ctims from questioning the charges. These transactions were tied to bogus companies with fake websites that could only be reached through specific links or URLs.

The network’s operators subsequently partnered with German payment service processors – encompassing their leaders and compliance personnel – to handle these transactions.

Former staff and leaders of German payment processors are included among those @rrested yesterday. German officials assert that this intricate scheme led to the formation of a shadow financial system in Germany.

In the United States, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), the U.S. government’s primary entity in cr!minal issues, collaborated intently with German authorities and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California to offer legal advice and orchestrate the effective @rrest of the defendants based in the U.S.

OIA engaged in planning sessions concerning the operation and liaised directly with the German prosecutor to guarantee that Germany satisfied U.S. legal standards to @rrest these fugitives aiming for extradition.

The U.S. Marshals Service for the Central District of California @rrested the fugitives in the United States simultaneously with @rrests and/or searches in Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli