American Greed

12 White Collar Fugitives Wanted by the FBI

On the Run, Wanted by the FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s has included some of the world’s most notorious criminals, including Osama Bin Laden, Ted Bundy and Warren Jeffs — totaling 493 since its creation in 1950. Of these fugitives, 463 have been apprehended or located, according to the FBI. Of these, 152 arrests have been assisted by the public. With the success of the “Most Wanted” list, the bureau in 1996 began putting wanted criminals on its website. Since then, more than 50 fugitives have been arrested as a r
Photo: AP || Source: The Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “10 Most Wanted List”has included some of the world’s most notorious criminals, including Osama Bin Laden, Ted Bundy, and Warren Jeffs — totaling 493 since its creation in 1950. Of these fugitives, 463 have been apprehended or located, according to the FBI. Of these, 152 arrests have been assisted by the public.

With the success of the “Most Wanted” list, the bureau in 1996 began putting photos and information about wanted criminals on its website. Since then, more than 50 fugitives have been arrested as a result of their information appearing on the site.

Along with the “Most Wanted,” other fugitives are being sought by the FBI in a variety of categories from violent crimes and cyber crimes, to domestic terrorism and crimes against children. The FBI says it believes its efforts would be assisted by increased public awareness. One of the “Wanted by the FBI” categories, “white collar crime,” highlights business or government professionals who are alleged to have defrauded institutions, organizations, or individual investors out of large sums of money.

With the help of the FBI we’ve highlighted some of the most interesting and excessive white-collar fugitives still on the run.Some even carry rewards of up to $100,000 for information leading to their arrest, so it could pay to be on the lookout. If you have any information on these criminals, the FBI encourages you to contact them through various methods listed on its website.

Who are some of these white collar criminals and what did they do? Click ahead for 12 fugitives wanted by the FBI.

Editors note: The original version of this story included an individual that is no longer on the FBI Wanted list, after the statue of limitations ran out on the alleged crimes. This current list now includes a replacement slide, which can be seen here.

By Paul Toscano
Updated 2 February 2012

Adriano Sotomayor

Charges: wire fraud, aiding and abetting Adriano Sotomayor is wanted for alleged involvement in the defrauding of members of the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania between May 2009 and June 2011. The FBI says Sotomayor launched his scheme after persuading an elderly nun to believe that she had been named in a will as a beneficiary of an estate valued at about $2.1 million. To lure the nun, the FBI says, Sotomayor made the victim believe that the
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Since this story's original publish date, Sotomayor has been apprehended by the FBI.

Charges: wire fraud, aiding and abetting

Adriano Sotomayor is wanted for alleged involvement in the defrauding of members of the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Puerto Rico and Pennsylvania between May 2009 and June 2011.

The FBI says Sotomayor allegedly launched his scheme after persuading an elderly nun to believe that she had been named in a will as a beneficiary of an estate valued at about $2.1 million. To lure the nun, the FBI claims, Sotomayor made the victim believe that the man who notified her about the will was a Catholic priest from New Jersey, and the deceased was one of his parishioners. Sotomayor allegedly caused at least 24 victims to send a total of more than $430,000 to him in New Jersey over a two-year period, investigators said.

On Nov. 15, Sotomayor was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. An arrest of Sotomayor was attempted on Nov. 16, after which Sotomayor contacted federal authorities and agreed to surrender on Nov. 22. However, he failed to appear and remains a fugitive, the FBI said.

See Sotomayor’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Eva Maria Malczewski

Charge: failure to appear Eva Maria Malczewski was convicted of embezzlement after it was discovered that she siphoned off large sums of money while working as a teller at two banks in Texas. She failed to appear for sentencing in November 1998, and a warrant was issued for her arrest. According to the FBI, Malczewski has full lips, crooked front teeth and speaks fluent Polish. Malczewski's last known address in the United States was in Arlington, Texas.
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charge: failure to appear

Eva Maria Malczewski was convicted of embezzlement after it was discovered that she siphoned off large sums of money while working as a teller at two banks in Texas. She failed to appear for sentencing in November 1998, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

According to the FBI, Malczewski has full lips, crooked front teeth, and speaks fluent Polish. Malczewski's last known address in the U.S. was in Arlington, Texas.

See Malczewski’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Dr. Gautam Gupta

Reward: Up to $10,000 leading directly to his arrest Charges: mail fraud, health care fraud, conspiracy Dr. Gautam Gupta, the owner of a chain of medically supervised weight-loss clinics, is wanted by the FBI in Chicago for alleged involvement in several white-collar crimes. Investigators said Gupta or members of his staff acting at his direction submitted claims to Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance and the Illinois Medicaid program for unnecessary procedures or procedures that were never perform
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Reward: Up to $10,000 leading directly to his arrest
Charges: mail fraud, health-care fraud, conspiracy

Dr. Gautam Gupta, the owner of a chain of medically supervised weight-loss clinics, is wanted by the FBI in Chicago for his alleged involvement in several white collar crimes. Investigators claim that Gupta, or members of his staff acting at his direction, submitted claims to Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance and the Illinois Medicaid program for unnecessary procedures or procedures that were never performed. Between June 2001 and January 2010, the clinic was paid about $25 million for these procedures.

On June 13, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Gupta on seven counts of mail fraud, two counts of health-care fraud, and one count of conspiracy.

The FBI says Gupta has known ties to Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Canada, Estonia, and Finland. He weighs 160 pounds, has graying black hair that may be worn in a ponytail, and speaks English and Hindi.

See Gupta’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Carlos, Luis & Jose Benitez

Charges include: conspiracy to defraud the United States with false health care claims, money laundering Brothers Luis, Carlos and Jose Benitez are wanted by the FBI for alleged involvement in a multimillion dollar scheme to defraud Medicare in the Miami area. From 2001 through 2004, the Benitez brothers owned and directed 11 clinics that provided HIV treatments to Medicare beneficiaries. However, these treatments were unnecessary and often never given to the patients, authorities said. The pati
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charges include: conspiracy to defraud the U.S. with false health-care claims, money laundering

Brothers Luis, Carlos, and Jose Benitez are wanted by the FBI for their alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud Medicare in the Miami area. From 2001 through 2004, the Benitez brothers owned and directed 11 clinics that provided HIV treatments to Medicare beneficiaries. However, these treatments were unnecessary and often never given to the patients, authorities claim. The patients received kickbacks for their information, while the Benitez brothers allegedly opened sham companies to launder millions of dollars from Medicare, according to the FBI.

The Benitezes were indicted in May 2008. The brothers may have traveled to Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, or Nicaragua, the FBI said. Luis Benitez is 5-feet-11, 180 pounds and walks with a limp after a leg injury. Jose is 5-feet-11 and weighs 150 pounds, while Carlos is 5-feet-9 and weighs 180 pounds.

See FBI “Wanted” posters for:
Luis Benitez
Carlos Benitez
Jose Benitez

Omid Tahvili

Charges include: wire fraud, mail fraud, telemarketing fraud against the elderly The FBI said Omid Tahvili is for his role as the owner and operator of a fraudulent telemarketing business in Vancouver, Canada. Through the business, he obtained about $3 million from hundreds of elderly victims in the United States between 1999 and 2002. the FBI said Tahvili and his accomplices informed the victims that they had either won or had a very good chance of winning a lottery, but that they would have to
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charges include: wire fraud, mail fraud, telemarketing fraud against the elderly

The FBI said Omid Tahvili is wanted for what they claim is his role as the owner and operator of a fraudulent telemarketing business in Vancouver, Canada. Through the business, he obtained about $3 million from hundreds of elderly victims in the U.S. between 1999 and 2002. Tahvili and his accomplices allegedly informed the victims that they had either won or had a very good chance of winning a lottery, but that they would have to pay an advance fee to obtain the winnings. None of the victims received any of the promised winnings.

An arrest warrant was issued for Tahvili in 2003. While serving time for an unrelated kidnapping and assault charge, Tahvili escaped in 2007 from a correctional institution in British Columbia, where he had been in custody for more than two years. Along with the U.S. warrant, there is also a Canada-wide arrest warrant related to the escape.

Tahvili, who is considered to be extremely dangerous, is believed to be in Germany, Tehran, Toronto, or Spain, and may have a moustache and goatee, the FBI said.

See Tahvili’s FBI “Wanted” poster

James Stanley Eberhart

Charges include: mail fraud, money laundering, aiding and abetting James Stanley Eberhart is wanted for alleged involvement in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded website investors of over $11 million. In 1999, Eberhart and several associates owned and operated a telemarketing company, YES Entertainment Network Inc., in the Los Angeles area. They said their company would develop a website with access to 18 channels offering video programming, but the website was never completed, the FBI said.
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Since this story's original publish date, Eberhart has been apprehended in Malaysia and deported back to the United States. According to the FBI, he was deported because his American passport had expired.

Charges include: mail fraud, money laundering, aiding and abetting

James Stanley Eberhart is wanted for his alleged involvement in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded website investors of more than $11 million.

In 1999, Eberhart and several associates owned and operated a telemarketing company, YES Entertainment Network, in the Los Angeles area. The company claimed it would develop a website with access to 18 channels offering video programming, but the website was never completed, the FBI said.

Over 800 victims never received returns on their capital after investing up to $100,000, according to the FBI. This money was allegedly used for the personal benefit of the company's principal employees and telemarketers, and a substantial amount of the money was transferred to offshore bank accounts in Hong Kong and Singapore, investigators said.

Since late 1999, Eberhart is believed to been in the Philippines, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Malaysia, the FBI said. Eberhart is believed to be residing in Singapore and enjoys sailing on his luxury boat called "Infinity," investigators said.

Luis Ferreira

Charges include: failure to surrender, contempt of court The FBI said Luis Ferreira is a convicted felon, wanted for failing to surrender in Florida for conspiracy to commit witness tampering in connection with his involvement in a high-yield investment scam to defraud individual investors. From mid-2008 through 2010, Ferreira was part owner of three investment firms that operated out of Deerfield Beach, Fla. The companies solicited investments in precious metals from individual investors but wh
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charges include: failure to surrender, contempt of court

The FBI said Luis Ferreira is a convicted felon, wanted for failing to surrender in Florida for conspiracy to commit witness tampering in connection with his involvement in a high-yield investment scam to defraud individual investors.

From mid-2008 through 2010, Ferreira was part owner of three investment firms that operated out of Deerfield Beach, Fla. The companies solicited investments in precious metals from individual investors, but when the investors were not able to cash out their accounts it was found that company employees were conducting unauthorized transactions, the FBI said. During this time, Ferreira was on supervised release in connection with a prior federal sentence and concealed his involvement in these investment firms from authorities, according to investigators.

In the case that followed, Ferreira pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit witness tampering and was sentenced to 33 months in prison. He was given electronic monitoring with a curfew, but in May 2011 he did not report home and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest. He has been on the run ever since.

Ferreira, who speaks Portuguese and English, may have been living in South America, possibly Brazil, since May 2011, the FBI said. Ferreira has owned and operated an Internet business called Brazilian Hair Experts, which also has done business as L’amour, the FBI said.

See Ferreira’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Chaim Yehuda Reich

Charge: fraud against the government Chaim Yehuda Reich is wanted by the FBI for allegedly making false statements on loan applications submitted to a federal credit bank through his business Performance Enterprises Inc. According to the FBI, in March 1990 Reich and an associate obtained a loan for $500,000 in order raise turkeys in Nebraska. The two men allegedly used false names when completing the loan application and provided fictitious financial information about collateral backing the loan
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charge: fraud against the government

Chaim Yehuda Reich is wanted by the FBI for allegedly making false statements on loan applications submitted to a federal credit bank through his business Performance Enterprises. According to the FBI, in March 1990 Reich and an associate obtained a loan for $500,000 in order raise turkeys in Nebraska. The two men allegedly used false names when completing the loan application and provided fictitious financial information about collateral backing the loan. Reich's accomplice was arrested and pleaded guilty to the charges, but Reich remains a fugitive.

Reich was last seen in May 1994 in Union City, N.J., and has ties to Argentina and Italy, the FBI said. Investigators say he may be living in Israel with his wife and four children. As a Hasidic Jew, the FBI said, he is known to have a full beard, long side hair curls, and he wears black clothing.

See Reich’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Fernando Grijalva

Charges: mail fraud, bank fraud Fernando Grijalva is accused of embezzling over $3 million while working for a subsidiary of a multibillion dollar company while in Boca Raton, Fla. The subsidiary would purchase computer supplies and equipment and sell them to distributors. From 2002 through 2003, Grijalva was the head of accounts payable and allegedly issued fraudulent invoices under the name of a bogus company he created. On December 2003, a complaint was filed charging Grijalva with mail fraud
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charges: mail fraud, bank fraud

Fernando Grijalva is accused of embezzling more than $3 million while working for a subsidiary of a multibillion-dollar company while in Boca Raton, Fla. The subsidiary would purchase computer supplies and equipment, and sell them to distributors, investigators claim. From 2002 through 2003, Grijalva was the head of accounts payable and allegedly issued fraudulent invoices under the name of a bogus company he created.

On December 2003, a complaint was filed charging Grijalva with mail fraud and bank fraud, and a federal warrant was issued for his arrest. The FBI says Grijalva may be in Ecuador, but may also travel to Las Vegas or Miami.

See Grijalva’s FBI “Wanted” poster

Orit Tuil

Crime: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud Orit Tuil is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale real estate scheme in New York City. As a real estate broker, Tuil would allegedly either find fraudulent buyers to purchase houses or get people whose houses were in foreclosure to transfer the deeds to her. Once she had the deeds, she would then obtain mortgages and sell the properties to other fraudulent buyers, keeping the money for herself. A federal arrest warrant was issued in June 20
Info and Photo Courtesy: FBI

Charges: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud

Orit Tuil is wanted for her alleged participation in a large-scale real estate scheme in New York. As a real estate broker, the FBI said, Tuil would either find fraudulent buyers to purchase houses or get people whose houses were in foreclosure to transfer the deeds to her. Once she had the deeds, Tuil would then obtain mortgages and sell the properties to other fraudulent buyers, keeping the proceeds for herself, according to investigators.

A federal arrest warrant was issued in June 2010 in New York, and Tuil was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She had previously lived in Forest Hills and Flushing, N.Y., but the FBI believes she may be living in Israel.

See Tuil's FBI "Wanted" Poster