Entrepreneur Wanja Oberhof released on bail in the USA

The entrepreneur Wanja Oberhof is free on bail. As the “Bild” newspaper and the “Handelsblatt” report, the deposit was two million US dollars. Oberhof's father-in-law Hans-Georg Oelmann, a Berlin lawyer, confirmed to the "Handelsblatt" that he had vouched for the start-up founder. According to reports, there is a second guarantor whose identity is not publicly known. According to the US Bureau of Prisons website, Oberhof was expected to be released on Monday.

According to reports, strict conditions will apply to Oberhof after his release. This included house arrest and GPS monitoring, and he also had to hand over his passport, it is said. If he leaves his place of residence with permission, he is only allowed to move within New York City, Long Island and neighboring counties. He must be available for further court dates.

The US authorities accuse Oberhof of defrauding an investor of more than two million dollars with his start-up The Healing Company. According to “Bild” and “Handelsblatt”, the investor is said to be former Siemens boss Klaus Kleinfeld. “When things like this happen, the fun stops for my client,” the “Handelsblatt” quoted a spokesman for Kleinfeld as saying.

Accusation of electronic fraud

The US investigators accuse Oberhof of receiving money for a business purpose - but then using it for private expenses. He also falsified documents to cover up his actions, according to a statement from the US Attorney's Office. Accordingly, he used the investment in the start-up to pay the rent for his penthouse apartment in Manhattan. This should be around $20,000 per month.

According to authorities, the maximum penalty for so-called electronic fraud in the USA is 20 years in prison. The authority expressly points out the presumption of innocence until a legally binding court decision is made.

Oberhof did not initially respond to inquiries from “Bild” and “Handelsblatt”. The entrepreneur founded his first company as a teenager and later built or financed numerous companies. He was co-founder of the e-commerce company The Social Chain, in which the investors Georg Kofler and Ralf Dümmel, known from the TV show "Lion's Den", also participated. Oberhof temporarily led the company as chairman of the board. After the share lost 90 percent of its value within a year, he had to vacate the position at the end of 2022. In July 2023, The Social Chain announced a bankruptcy filing.