Multimillionaire early Tesla investor accused of embezzling gold bars worth millions

German start-up financier Florian Fritsch, 46, was arrested in a Regensburg hospital and is being held in prison in Nuremberg, Germany.

The deputy chief public prosecutor of the Nuremberg public prosecutor’s office, Michael Schrotberger, said: "The suspect was arrested on March 13 and brought before the Regensburg district court."

It was reportedly none other than his wife, Eva Fritsch, who reported him to the authorities in December 2024 when she discovered he had allegedly removed gold bars from her gold depository company in Vienna.

Her company Meine Schatzkammer - My Treasury in English - offers customers the option to either open online deposit accounts or set up gold savings plans, with the gold then being stored in safety deposit boxes. However_, a significant portion of the gold was apparently stored at the Vienna branch of the gold bar manufacturer Heimerle and Meule.

Fritsch is alleged to have collected up to 14kg of gold for Meine Schatzkammer from there last year (2024) without informing the company's management, according to the accusations. Fritsch is said to have held no official position in his wife's company.

A spokeswoman for Heimerle and Meule stated: "We are not aware of the matter and therefore cannot provide any information on it."

Fritsch's defence teams have also not commented on the fraud charges at the time of writing. Fritsch made his fortune after he joined Elon Musk's Tesla company as one of its investors about 17 years ago.

German media said that Fritsch and his brother Nicolas were considered pioneers of electric mobility in Germany at the time, driving an orange Tesla Roadster for advertising purposes and often hanging out with celebrities.

But Fritsch's questionable business practices have already landed him in court in Bavaria on several occasions, according to German reports. It is alleged that he used investments from investors in start-up companies to shore up his own finances.

The Liechtenstein Public Prosecutor's Office is also reportedly investigating Fritsch on suspicion of commercial fraud and money laundering.

At the request of the authorities in Liechtenstein, 200 gold bars were seized by the Austrian authorities during a house search in Vienna, according to Austrian media. Fritsch is presumed innocent, with German media reporting that his former business partners in Vienna are trying to collect Fritsch's alleged debts through bailiffs and seizures.

The Nuremberg Public Prosecutor's Office has already announced extradition proceedings to Austria once all necessary documents from Vienna are available.

Story: NewsX