Guess correctly and get an honorable mention on this blog. Guess precisely and you might collect a $20,000 reward from the FBI (details here).
Richard Ayvazyan and Marietta Terabelian, a married couple, stole $20 million of pandemic relief funds. They were convicted in June and sentenced to prison in August. (Story here)
Mugshots of all that was found of them are pictured at left.
They hail from Armenia, which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the U.S., so is a logical place to look for them.
But it’s not high on this list of “best places to disappear,” although of places that are, I’m not sure I’d choose Ethiopia or Mongolia.
Brazil seems like a better bet, for reasons explained in that list, i.e. Brazilian authorities “do not extradite their citizens under any circumstances” and “Brazil is one of the easiest places to become a citizen.” They have nice beaches there, too, although I’ve heard the HIV rate on them is 100%. But that shouldn’t be a problem for a married couple who stick to themselves and don’t mingle with strangers.
I am going with an old song. Take the Money and Run” and guess Mexico.