“Lucy Weist” faces five years in prison for funding the international escape of a tech fraudster.
Facing up to five years in federal prison, a Malibu woman entered a guilty plea Monday for orchestrating a cross-border escape to help her convicted tech-fraudster boyfriend evade justice.
Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, who also uses the alias “Lucy Weist,” pleaded guilty in federal court to one felony count of being an accessory after the fact. According to the U.S. Attorney Central District, Manera systematically funded and coordinated the international flight of 64-year-old Bernhard Eugen Fritsch after he was convicted of multi-million dollar wire fraud.
Fritsch, a tech entrepreneur, was found guilty by a federal jury in April 2025 of defrauding investors out of more than $20 million. Evidence from his nine-day trial revealed that between 2014 and 2017, Fritsch routinely fabricated the financial performance of a software application marketed to help celebrities and influencers monetize brand endorsements. Manera was present in the courtroom when the guilty verdict was read. Fritsch, who was free on bond at the time, skipped his June 2, 2025, remand hearing and drove across the border into Mexico to avoid being taken into custody.
Federal prosecutors outlined a multi-month concealment campaign led by Manera following the escape. She lied directly to FBI special agents by claiming she had not been in communication with Fritsch around the time of his disappearance. Furthermore, she executed at least 10 payments totaling $7,475 to a third party to house the fugitive, authorized a bank charge for his hotel stay in Mexico, and conducted online research on Fritsch’s behalf to coordinate his travel from Mexico to Germany, a nation that historically bars the extradition of its own citizens.
U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer scheduled Manera’s sentencing for October 5.
Fritsch was sentenced in absentia in October 2025 to 15 years in federal prison, fined $35,000, and ordered to pay $26.8 million in restitution. While the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Fritsch’s appeal in April 2026 due to his fugitive status, the court noted it may reinstate the case if he surrenders to federal authorities by August 21, 2026. The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Monica E. Tait of the Major Frauds Section leading the prosecution.
