Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

The U.S. Marshals Service has again asked the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to alert all U.S. banks about the activities of fugitive John Ruffo, who was convicted in 1998 for his role in defrauding several banks of over $350 million and may now be attempting other fraud schemes. He has used his real name, John Ruffo, in various schemes, but he may also attempt to use an alias. He is believed to have access to large sums of money and may have U. S. bank accounts.

Mr. Ruffo has been a federal fugitive since he failed to report to prison in 1998 to serve a 17 ½-year sentence for bank fraud. The fraudulent business scheme involved phony equipment leases and an individual posing as an official of the Philip Morris Company. Attached for your information are a U.S. Marshals Service press release and a "wanted" poster with John Ruffo's picture. The press release and the picture may also be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/news/ruffo15.html and http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/wanted/ruffo.html, respectively.

The U.S. Marshals Service has asked that anyone who sees Mr. Ruffo or has information about him to immediately call the local police. You may also call the U.S. Marshals Service at 703-274-2013 (monitored 24 hours a day), or you may contact U.S. Marshal Barry Boright (pager # 1-888-201-6929) or U.S. Marshal Robert Haase (pager # 1-888-201-6935).

Information also may be forwarded to the FDIC's Special Activities Section, 550 17th Street, NW, Room F-6012, Washington, DC 20429, or transmitted electronically to alert@fdic.gov.

For your reference, all FDIC Financial Institution Letters published since January of 1995 may be found on the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov under "News, Events & FOIA." To learn how to automatically receive FDIC Financial Institution Letters through e-mail, please visit http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/announcements/index.html.

Attachments: May be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/news/ruffo15.html and http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/wanted/ruffo.html.

Distribution: FDIC-Insured Institutions