Have You Seen This Man? charts the wild true story of white-collar criminal John Ruffo, who is wanted for defrauding the U.S. and foreign banks of $350 million and has been on the run for just over 23 years.
The ABC documentary series was released in the hope that by bringing the story back into the public eye it could lead to a result in the case, but it may also prompt the man himself to come forward, producer Megan Harding told Newsweek.
“I wondered, as we were making it I wondered if he actually had listened to the podcast, and wouldn’t it be great if he did watch [the show]?” Harding said. “And wouldn’t it be great if he sort of couldn’t help himself but to reach out? Unlikely that, but that’s what I sometimes dream about.
“Doesn’t he want to just give a little hint, you know, he can be like, ‘Come on, guys. I’ve been here for 24 years!'”
The former business executive was meant to self surrender in 1998 after being convicted of fraud, for which he was given a 17-year sentence. However, on November 9, 1998 Ruffo disappeared and was last seen in security camera footage from an ATM in Queens, New York.
How There’s Hope ‘Armchair Detectives’ Can Help Catch John Ruffo
Since Ruffo vanished his story has all but fallen into obscurity, despite him being on the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted Fugitives list, so the intention with the show was for “armchair detectives” to see if they recognize the man.
Harding told Newsweek: “I really like the idea that, you know, there are armchair…
