Living a life on the run is not for the faint of heart, but some criminals have done so
for over a decade.
These missing people have seemingly made an art out of evading capture and it remains
to be seen if they will ever face the consequences for the crimes that they have committed.
5.
Geezer Bandit
The Geezer Bandit is the name given to man who is wanted by the FBI for a string of bank
robberies committed in Southern California.
Investigators believe that he is responsible for at least 16 robberies, the first having
been committed in 2009 and the last of which was committed on the 2nd of December, 2011
after which he became a missing person.
The FBI believes that the bandit is a white male between 60 and 70 years of age.
He stands between 5’10” and 6’0” and weighs between 190 and 200 lb with an average
build.
While inspecting footage of the robberies, they were able to ascertain that he is very
likely left-handed.
The man’s method of robbery is to enter a bank, posing as an everyday customer and
he then approaches the teller while holding a leather case.
He then produces a weapon and hands the teller a note demanding money to be handed over to
him.
One teller who was in close contact with the robber stated that he was handed a note that
read: “Give me $50,000”.
The note further stated that if he didn’t comply with his request, his life would be
ended.
Although the man appears to be of an elderly age, some law enforcement officers have theorized
that he is, in fact, a younger man.
They believe that he may actually be a master of disguise and that he uses a silicone mask
to give the impression that he is of a much older age.
The FBI has made a point of questioning manufacturers of similar types of special effects masks
in an attempt to gain a greater insight into the bandit’s modus operandi.
This tactic was devised after another man was convicted of various bank robberies in
which he wore a mask that hid his race.
The theory gained further traction after surveillance footage emerged of the bandit running much
faster than would be expected of a man in his 60s.
But despite the best efforts of the FBI to track the man down, he remains at large 10
years after his last robbery
4.
Shaileshkumar Jain
Shaileshkumar Jain, also known as Sam, is one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted black-hat
hackers.
He formed a partnership with two other men, Bjorn Daniel Sundin and another unnamed suspect
and the three have been indicted of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, one count of computer
fraud and 24 counts of wire fraud.
Federal warrants for their arrests have also been issued.
The unnamed suspect has been apprehended, but Sam and Sundin remain at large at this
stage, thwarting the FBI at every turn.
Between December of 2006 and October of 2008, Sundin and Jain devised a scam where spyware
was used to trick customers into purchasing rogue anti-spyware software to the tune of
$100 million.
The two men set up a number of websites, including discountbob.com and winantivirus.com where
they offered Symantec anti-virus software for sale, operating under a fake company called
Innovative Marketing, Inc.
They then used email scamming and popup security alert ads which would direct potential customers
to the sites where they were asked to purchase the bogus software.
Once on the site, customers had the option to purchase Anti-virus software packages which
were priced between $30 and $70.
The purchases that were made by credit card were then ferried through various financial
institutions and they would ultimately be deposited by Jain into bank accounts that
he owned in Switzerland and the United States.
People from more than 60 countries were lured into their trap, only realizing that they
had been scammed when they received the purchased goods.
When they complained about the software, customers were directed to call centers where they were
lied to or given refunds to deter them from reporting the scammers.
Jain has been a fugitive since 2008 when he failed to appear in court and to pay a $250,000
bond as scheduled.
He was indicted again in 2010 and since then, authorities have confiscated more than $15
million from his Swiss bank account.
It is believed that he may be hiding out in Sweden which does not have an extradition
treaty with the United States for computer-based offenses and as such, he remains a missing
person.
3.
Arnoldo Jimenez
Arnoldo Jimenez was added to the FBI’s most wanted list on the 8th of May, 2019, though
he has been wanted for nearly 10 years.
Jimenez married Estrella Carrera who had two children from a prior relationship and the
couple had one child of their own together.
On the night of the wedding, they had dinner with family and friends after which they went
to a nightclub where they celebrated until around 4 am the following morning.
Theories suggest that the couple got into an argument as they were making their way
home in Jimenez’s black, 2006, 4-door Maserati.
It is believed that he lost his temper during the fight and he attacked her with a sharp
blade, ending her life.
He then moved her into her apartment and left her in a bathtub while she was still dressed
in the same cocktail dress that she had worn at their wedding ceremony.
When she did not arrive at her family’s home the next day to pick up her children
as scheduled, they reported her as a missing person.
She was discovered inside her apartment on the afternoon of the 13th of May and police
have stated that there was no sign of forced entry into the building.
Jimenez had disappeared and his car was nowhere to be found.
An investigation was launched and it was found that Jimenez had used his cell phone in Chicago
on the 12th of May and again in Southern Illinois.
He used it again later in Tennessee and in Arkansas, Houston and finally, in Hidalgo,
Mexico.
When a raid was carried out at Jimenez’s brother’s house, his black Maserati was
discovered in the garage.
Evidence was also found inside the car which proved that Estrella had been moved after
she was deceased.
It is believed that his brother then drove him to Mexico before returning home and police
speculate that he may be hiding out in Durango or in Reynosa, Mexico.
2.
37-year-old Omid Tahvili, also known as Nino, is the kingpin of a Persian organized crime
family based in Canada.
The group has also been linked to other criminal groups in the country.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have stated that he arrived in Canada in 1994 after travelling
from Iran.
In November of 2000, he and his brother-in-law were arrested after 6.6 pounds of a controlled
substance was found in their possession during an operation carried out between the Vancouver
police and the RCMP, however, Tahvili was found not guilty.
By 2003, it had become apparent to the RCMP that he had become the head of operations
for one of the main criminal organizations that was operating out of an Iranian community
in the country.
In 2005, Tahvili was told that C$300,000 had gone missing from his operations and he suspected
that a courier who he employed had stolen the money and fled to Vietnam.
He kidnapped the man’s brother-in-law and interrogated him for hours, but eventually
let him go, only to be arrested himself soon after.
On the 15th of November, 2007, Tahvili escaped from a maximum security prison in British
Columbia after he bribed a prison guard named Edwin Ticne with a promise of $50, 000.
He was doing time after being found guilty of assault, kidnapping, causing bodily harm,
uttering a threat and proceeds-of-crime charges and after it was found that he was the mastermind
behind the criminal organisation.
He was spotted on CCTV cameras leaving the prison while wearing a janitor’s uniform
and being accompanied by Ticne, who unlocked a series of doors for Tahvili who eventually
made his way out through the prison’s front door.
He was given an 11 year sentence in absentia.
He is also wanted in the United States however, where he is accused of running a $3 million
telemarketing scam that was aimed at preying on elderly victims.
In August of 2008, Tahvili contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and promised to turn
himself in if it could be guaranteed that he would not be extradited to the United States.
He told police that he was in Toronto at the time, but it is suspected that he has fled
to Iran, which has no extradition treaty with Canada and he remains a missing person.
1.
Vassilis Palaiokostas
Vassilis Palaiokostas is believed to have been the mastermind of the kidnapping of Giorgos
Mylonas who is a Greek industrialist.
They hold this belief since the ransom that was paid for Mylonas was traced back to him.
While his brother was serving time for his role in 16 bank robberies, Vassilis tried
to break him out of prison by driving a tank through the walls of the prison.
He was also involved in the robbery of a jewelry store, but managed to escape after his accomplices
blocked police into their own station.
During another robbery, while being pursued by police, he started throwing fistfuls of
money out of the window of their getaway car, causing pedestrians to run after the money
and hampering the police’s pursuit, causing them to get away unscathed.
As they fled, they stole another car, but returned it to its owner with a wad of money
inside to compensate him for the inconvenience.
Vassilis became famous in his home town after he gave most of the money from the robbery
to poor families in the area.
In 2000, he was convicted of another kidnapping, that of Alexander Haitoglou in 1995.
Haitoglou was the CEO of a company called Haitoglou Bros which is a food company based
in Northern Greece.
On that occasion, he was sentenced to 25 years behind bars.
While he was serving time in 2006, two of his accomplices booked a trip on a sightseeing
helicopter which was to fly from Agios Kosmas on the coast of Athens.
During the flight, they hijacked the helicopter and forced the pilot to divert his flight
path to the prison where Vassilis was being held.
Upon the arrival of the helicopter, prison guards believed that they were being visited
by prison inspectors, but instead prisoners were loaded on board before being flown to
a nearby cemetery where they made their escape on motorcycles.
2 years later in 2008, Vassilis would be captured again in Thessaloniki but on the 22nd of February
of the same year, another helicopter arrived at the prison and Vassilis along with Alket
Rizai climbed up a rope ladder which was lowered by a female accomplice as it flew over the
prison courtyard.
An elderly couple would later find the helicopter abandoned near a highway in Kapandriti, Athens
with a leaking fuel tank from a bullet hole, caused by one of the prison guards.
The pilot had been tied up and gagged and he told police that the helicopter had been
chartered by an elderly couple who asked to be flown to Athens from the town of Itea.
The pilot told police that the couple had made use of the helicopter numerous times
over the previous weeks, posing as business partners.
He would go on to state that he was forced to take part in the daring escape and that
Vassilis made his getaway in a car after the helicopter landed and he was tied up and gagged.
Vassilis still remains a wanted fugitive.