The former CEO of a defense startup accused of impersonating retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus in a brazen scheme to defraud investors has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in reference to the case, federal authorities said this week.
Executive Director Barend “Barry” Oberholzer, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit electronic fraud for his actions while looking for funding for his startup X.Labs and “Sword,” an app and connected smartphone case that would allegedly detect a hidden weapons, including firearms.
Reached by The Post on Wednesday, Oberholzer said he had “no comment” on the plea.
“But I would like to reiterate that I didn’t plead guilty to the Petraeus charge since it was dropped as part of the conspiracy settlement,” Oberholzer said.
According to a criminal criticism filed by the Department of Justice in 2019, Oberholzer “sent multiple emails to no less than two enterprise capital firms” by which he posed as a retired general and “advocated and ordered an investment” in his firm.
![David Petraeus](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008940250.jpg?w=1024)
In 2021, a source conversant in the matter identified the final as David Petraeus, Gen reports the Every day News.
In a single email detailed within the criticism, Oberholzer claimed to be Petraeus, touting the app and smartphone case as “groundbreaking proprietary mobile technology” with the potential to “revolutionize the worldwide security industry.”
The email claimed that the startup’s goal was to raise $15 million.
The criticism also alleged that Oberholzer had introduced Petraeus on LinkedIn about a potential investment, but the final “refused.”
“Barend Oberholzer tried to use the repute of a retired four-star army general to gain investment in his start-up and a device he developed that allegedly could detect concealed weapons” – U.S. Attorney Damian Williams he said in a statement on pleading guilty.
“As an alternative of attracting investors truthfully, Oberholzer lied continuously to make his company more attractive to investors,” added Williams. “Fortunately, law enforcement was able to detect the defendant’s lies, and he now faces a significant prison sentence.”
![SWORD](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008940259.jpg?w=1024)
Oberholzer faces up to 20 years in prison.
The feds said Oberholzer had engaged in a “conspiracy” to make land investments “based on fraudulently false information regarding financial solvency, access to money, and use of investor funds,” including falsified financial statements.
Authorities linked Oberholzer to the fake emails, tying them to the IP address of his Colorado residence. Oberholzer logged into the fake email account multiple times from December 2017 to May 2018.
Oberholzer is the co-founder of X.Labs. “Sword” has since been renamed “X1” and remains to be available on the corporate’s website.
The Post contacted the Southern District of Recent York for further comments on Oberholzer’s claim.
Oberholzer reportedly had a checkered past before pleading guilty.
in 2019 Every day Beast reported that Oberholzer was “a fugitive from fraud charges” in South Africa after fleeing the country despite an open warrant for his arrest. South African prosecutors said Oberholzer faced “nearly two dozen charges” including fraud and forgery.
On the time, Oberholzer claimed to be “an intelligence asset for the U.S. government.”
He also touted cooperation with other intelligence agencies all over the world, although he declined to provide proof.
![Barry Oberholzer](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008940140.jpg?w=682)
He self-published a memoir on Amazon titled “The Black Market Concierge” by which he claims to have “reported a number of vital intelligence data to the CIA and plenty of intelligence agencies all over the world.”
last yr separate Every day Beast report noted that Oberholzer was sued for fraud by a global shipping company called Unique Logistics.
The story also raised questions on the effectiveness of “Feevr”, a now-discontinued thermal protection product developed by X.Labs and sold to several schools.
In response to the story, Oberholzer allegedly “provided The Every day Beast with a document showing that he was not guilty of any crimes” in South Africa, although local police didn’t respond to requests to corroborate his claim.
The feds noted this week that Oberholzer’s co-defendant within the case, Jaromy Pittario, X.Labs’ former chief operating officer, previously pleaded guilty in January and is due to be sentenced in May.
In 2021, the startup told the Every day News that Oberholzer had “voluntarily stepped aside” from X.Labs “months ago”.
The court documents referred to a person Oberholzer impersonated as “a retired four-star U.S. Army general or as ‘retired General-1’.”
The newspapers also said that the final was “currently employed by a private equity investment firm based in Recent York, NY.”
Petraeus, 70, is a longtime director of KKR, where he’s a partner and president of the KKR Global Institute.
X.Labs representatives didn’t immediately return a request for comment. KKR declined to comment.
Petraeus can be a former CIA director who resigned in 2012 after revealing he had an extramarital affair together with his biographer.