A Hollywood actress could be headed to prison after admitting she helped her convicted fraudster boyfriend slip out of the United States.
Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, pleaded guilty on Monday to being an accessory after the fact, acknowledging that she helped Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 64, avoid law enforcement after he was convicted of defrauding investors of $20 million through his software business.
Manera, an actress who has used the name “Lucy Weist” and appeared in Blown Away and The Silencers, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Prosecutors said she concealed Fritsch from authorities, assisted him while he was hiding in Mexico and paid for his return to his native Germany.
According to the US Department of Justice, Manera knowingly aided Fritsch after his April 2025 federal conviction for wire fraud.
Between 2014 and 2017, Fritsch swindled investors out of millions by misrepresenting the finances of his technology company and exaggerating the prospects of StarSite, a software platform pitched as a way for celebrities and influencers to profit from brand endorsements.
To draw in backers, Fritsch promoted a series of fabricated claims, including supposed multimillion-dollar revenue figures and pending agreements with major media companies such as Disney.
He also sought to bolster StarClub Inc.’s image by associating the company with entertainment figures, with actresses Caitlin O’Connor and Elise Neal attending promotional events, according to the New York Post.
Fritsch told investors their money would be used to expand StarClub’s technology and channels, but prosecutors said he instead diverted the funds to support an extravagant lifestyle.
Lucinda Jane Weist Manera, 63, pleaded guilty Monday after helping her convicted fraudster boyfriend flee the country
Lucinda Weist in Murder, She Wrote (1984) she has known roles in Blown Away and The Silencers
Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 64, scammed investors out of millions by lying about his tech company’s financial performance
The fraudster enriched himself with luxury cars, including a McLaren and a Rolls-Royce, while also upgrading his yacht and renovating his Malibu mansion.
Fritsch was found guilty of wire fraud on April 3, 2025, and his girlfriend was in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
The 64-year-old was free on bond, with a June 2, 2025 hearing set on his potential remand into federal custody.
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But on the day of the hearing, the fugitive boyfriend fled the US by car and crossed into Mexico to avoid being thrown behind bars.
From June to September 2025, Manera helped Fritsch evade apprehension and punishment, including lying to FBI agents that she hadn’t spoken to him within a day of his June 2 hearing.
The actress made at least 10 payments between June and September 2025, totaling about $7,475, to a third party, aware that Fritsch was hiding at that person’s home.
The loyal girlfriend also authorized a $534 charge on her bank account to cover Fritsch’s hotel stay in Mexico.
Manera knowingly assisted her boyfriend after his April 2025 federal wire fraud conviction
Michael Jackson and Fritsch, he was found guilty of wire fraud on April 3, 2025
Fritsch attends StarClub Inc’s Private Party hosted by Tyrese Gibson
US actor Wesley Snipes, German moderator Verona Pooth and Bernhard Fritsch attend the Bertelsmann Summer Party at Bertelsmann Repraesentanz
In September 2025, Manera searched the web for information on how Fritsch could leave Mexico and travel to Germany, which generally prohibits extradition of its citizens.
Fritsch was later sentenced in absentia to 15 years in federal prison, fined $35,000, and ordered to pay $26,806,901 in restitution in October 2025.
Authorities are still requesting he surrender. US District Judge Dale S Fischer has set an October 5 sentencing hearing for Manera.
