Former CEO Charged With Fraud
Wanja Oberhof—the Former CEO of a Wellness Startup—Charged with Defrauding an Investor of Millions of Dollars
Monday, September 14, 2026 - United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging WANJA OBERHOF, a founder and the former CEO of a wellness startup, the Healing Company, with defrauding an investor in his venture. OBERHOF was presented today before Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.
“Investors are entitled to know that their money will be used for the purposes they were promised, not siphoned off to fund an executive’s personal expenses,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “As alleged, Wanja Oberhof convinced an investor to provide millions of dollars for a specific business purpose, then diverted much of that money for his own benefit and doctored records to conceal what he had done.”
“Oberhof allegedly defrauded at least one victim of over two million dollars and operated under the guise of running a wellness company,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “The FBI and its partners will continue to pursue investigations into dishonest individuals to prevent the furtherance of any such schemes.”
According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:(1)
The Healing Company was a start-up venture that, among other things, sought to acquire interests in health and wellness companies. As described further below, WANJA OBERHOF, the defendant, was a co-founder and then CEO of The Healing Company and made misrepresentations to an investor in The Healing Company in order to obtain investor money, and subsequently misappropriated investor funds. In particular, OBERHOF tricked a businessman (“Victim-1”) into investing $2.5 million in an affiliate of The Healing Company based on the false promise that Victim-1’s funds would be used in substantial part to pay off debt that was encumbering a valuable asset held by The Healing Company. Rather than using the investor’s money as promised, OBERHOF misappropriated the vast majority through various money transfers for OBERHOF’s personal benefit. For example, OBERHOF transferred, or caused to be transferred: (a) approximately $25,000 of Victim-1’s money to pay for OBERHOF’s rent at his luxury penthouse apartment in Manhattan (which cost nearly $20,000 per month in rent); (b) over $57,000 of Victim-1’s money to repay a personal loan; and (c) ultimately, over $1.8 million of Victim-1’s money to a foreign bank account controlled by OBERHOF. In an attempt to hide the fraud from Victim-1, OBERHOF shared with Victim-1 and others doctored records relating to the use of Victim-1’s investment that, had OBERHOF not manipulated them, would have revealed OBERHOF’s misappropriation and the fraud on Victim-1.
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OBERHOF, a German national, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding work of the FBI.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah F. Fergenson is in charge of the prosecution.
The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the descriptions of the Complaint constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Contact
Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford
(212) 637-2600
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
