A 70-Year-Old New York Fugitive Makes Most Wanted List

A 70-year-old New York man is wanted in a massive bank heist. He was able to defraud American and foreign banks of $350 million. The United States Marshals put him on its 15 Most Wanted List. While $350 million is a hefty amount, two New Yorkers were arrested for stealing even more than that.

2 New Yorkers Arrested In $4.5 Billion Cryptocurrency Heist

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While we're on the subject of New Yorkers and heists, two New York residents were arrested in connection with the theft of $4.5 billion in stolen cryptocurrency. The individuals were attempting to launder the cryptocurrency, which was stolen during a 2016 hack of a virtual currency exchange, Bitfinex. The cryptocurrency is valued at $4.5 billion today. Law enforcement agencies seized $3.6 billion linked to the heist. Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, both residents of New York City, were arrested. The couple allegedly tried to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were stolen in the breach. They were charged with federal offenses,

Conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Apparently, New Yorkers are good at stealing cryptocurrency.

New York Woman On FBI Top 10 Most Wanted List

A woman known as the "CryptoQueen" is the only female on the FBI's infamous 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Aside from "CryptoQueen," she may be using fake names by Dr. Ruja Ignatova, Ruja Plamenova Ignatova, and Ruja P. Ignatova. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's field office in New York has been trying to locate Ruja Ignatova.

It is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to her capture. She has the honor of being one of only 11 women ever to make the Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. The FBI alleges that she had a leadership role in a massive fraud scheme that has affected millions of investors around the world.

New York Man Defrauded Banks Of $350 Million

Before Cryptocurrency was a thing, John Russo, who was born in Brooklyn, was allegedly stealing money from U.S. and foreign banks. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $25,000 reward in this decades-old heist.

Ruffo goes by quite a few different names, including John Russo, Jack Nitz, Bruce Gregory, John Peters, and Charles Sanders. He is wanted by the U.S. Marshals for Bank Fraud and Failure to Surrender for Sentencing.

Ruffo has been on the run for decades, since 1998. He was born on November 26, 1954. He is a white male with brown eyes and brown/balding hair. Ruffo is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs 170 pounds. At this point, the man is 70 years old, so some of his attributes may have changed. He required corrective lenses and wore glasses.

Per the U.S. Marshals,

"Ruffo is wanted in the Eastern District of Virginia for failing to serve a 17-year federal sentence after being released on a $10 million bond. Ruffo and a co-defendant set up a fraudulent business scheme through which they defrauded the United States and foreign banks of $350 million. Ruffo has numerous international ties, including throughout the Caribbean, South America and Europe."

If you have any information regarding Ruffo, please contact the U.S. Marshals Service Communications Center at 1-800-336-0102 or submit a tip online here.

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