The FBI has increased the reward for information leading to the capture of fugitives on its Ten Most Wanted list to $1 million, up from $250,000, the agency announced. The move accompanies several new additions to the list, including an Indian national wanted in a decade-old murder case and, for the first time, a fugitive accused of large-scale cyber-enabled financial crime.
Assistant Director Heith R. Janke said at a press conference that three people were added to the Ten Most Wanted last week: Samuel Ramirez Jr., Trung Duc Lu, and Anibal Aguirre. Ramirez was arrested in Mexico shortly after his listing, officials said, following a tip from the local community.
The Indian national, Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel, is wanted in the April 12, 2015, killing of his wife at a doughnut shop in Hanover, Maryland. The FBI says Patel, now believed to be about 35, should be considered armed and extremely dangerous; he was last seen in Newark, New Jersey. The Washington Post noted Patel has been on the Top Ten list since 2017 and is currently the longest-tenured person on the list.
Anibal Aguirre’s inclusion marks the first time the FBI has placed a suspect accused primarily of cyber-enabled financial crime on the Ten Most Wanted. Aguirre is alleged to have led an international ATM “jackpotting” operation tied to the foreign terrorist organization TdA. Janke said adding Aguirre underscores the bureau’s heightened focus on pursuing major cyber-enabled financial crime.
Janke described the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program, established March 4, 1950, as one of the bureau’s most effective investigative tools, relying on public awareness via media, online platforms, and international partners. Since the program began, 540 fugitives have been listed; 501 have been apprehended or located, a 93 percent success rate. Officials say tips from the public were decisive in 163 cases, and global media directly contributed to 65 apprehensions or locations outside the United States.
