Celebs Who Ran From The Law
Some famous names have found themselves facing charges or investigations and chose to get away rather than walk into a courtroom. Sometimes it meant hopping on a plane and resettling in a country without an extradition treaty. Other times it was as simple as slipping out of town and forcing authorities to negotiate across borders.
This list looks at well documented cases where high profile figures avoided arrest or court by fleeing a jurisdiction or taking refuge somewhere they could not be easily reached. Each entry outlines what happened, where they went, and how the story eventually moved forward, whether by capture, arrest abroad, or a long standoff that kept cases in limbo.
Roman Polanski
The filmmaker left the United States in 1978 before formal sentencing in a criminal case and settled in France. He obtained French citizenship and continued working while a US warrant remained active, and he avoided travel to countries that might detain him.
Authorities detained him in Switzerland in 2009 during a film festival appearance, but Swiss officials later declined to extradite him. He has continued to live in Europe while legal efforts from the United States have persisted in various courts.
Edward Snowden
After disclosing classified surveillance programs in 2013, he flew from Hawaii to Hong Kong while federal charges were filed in the United States. He then traveled onward and remained in Russia when his US passport was revoked during transit.
He received residency in Russia and later obtained citizenship there. US charges have remained pending, and he has lived abroad while legal and diplomatic discussions have periodically resurfaced.
Julian Assange
Following a UK court decision on extradition to Sweden in 2012, he entered the Embassy of Ecuador in London and requested asylum to avoid arrest. He stayed inside the embassy for nearly seven years while British authorities maintained a warrant for breaching bail.
Police arrested him in 2019 after Ecuador withdrew asylum. He was held in the UK while a separate extradition case involving the United States moved through the British courts for years with multiple appeals and rulings.
Carlos Ghosn
The auto executive faced criminal charges in Japan in 2018 and was released on bail under court restrictions. He left Japan in late 2019 by private transport and arrived in Lebanon, where he holds citizenship and where Japan has no extradition treaty.
Japanese authorities issued warrants and pursued legal avenues against him and alleged accomplices. He has remained in Lebanon while court cases and civil actions related to his tenure at the automakers continued in multiple jurisdictions.
John McAfee
The tech entrepreneur moved frequently across Central America and the Caribbean after becoming a person of interest in a case in Belize in 2012. He crossed borders while giving media interviews and later returned to the United States, then relocated again to other countries.
Spanish authorities detained him in 2020 on a US tax case while he was at an airport. He died in custody in Spain in 2021, and proceedings concerning US charges ended after his death.
Randy Quaid
The actor and his wife faced legal issues in California involving property and outstanding cases, then traveled to Canada in 2010. They sought refugee status and argued that returning to the United States would expose them to harm.
Canadian authorities handled immigration hearings over several years with rulings and appeals. US warrants remained active during that period, and the couple’s cross border saga continued with periodic detentions and legal filings.
O. J. Simpson
Los Angeles police sought to arrest him in 1994 and arranged a surrender, but he left in a white Ford Bronco with a friend driving and avoided stopping for hours while being followed by police. The slow moving pursuit ended at his home, where he was taken into custody the same evening.
The high profile chase was broadcast nationwide and led directly to his arrest. He later stood trial and was acquitted in criminal court, while separate civil proceedings concluded with different outcomes.
Timothy Leary
The psychologist and counterculture figure escaped from a California prison in 1970 with outside assistance and left the country. He traveled through multiple nations under assumed identities and made public appearances while remaining a fugitive.
He was detained by US agents in 1973 after being apprehended abroad and returned to custody. Subsequent cooperation with authorities and later legal developments changed his status, but his years on the run remained a major chapter of his biography.
Duane “Dog” Chapman
The television bounty hunter helped capture Andrew Luster in Mexico in 2003, where commercial bounty hunting is illegal. He left Mexico after the handover and later faced legal trouble stemming from that operation when Mexican authorities pursued a case.
US authorities arrested him on a Mexican warrant in 2006 followed by court proceedings in Hawaii. The case was eventually dismissed in Mexico, but his brief period leaving Mexico ahead of a court process created a cross border dispute.
Keith Raniere
As US investigators gathered evidence into his group’s activities, he left the United States for Mexico in 2018 and settled in a gated community near Puerto Vallarta. Agents tracked his location and coordinated with Mexican authorities for an arrest.
He was deported to the United States and faced multiple charges in federal court. Proceedings ended with convictions, and he has been incarcerated while appeals have continued.
Bikram Choudhury
After a California court issued orders in a civil case and later an arrest warrant related to noncompliance, he left the United States and continued teaching abroad. He maintained an international schedule while avoiding return to jurisdictions where he could be detained.
US courts pursued enforcement actions against assets and businesses. International appearances drew protests and fresh filings, while his absence complicated collection and compliance efforts for years.
Vijay Mallya
The Indian businessman left India for the United Kingdom in 2016 after banks and agencies initiated actions over unpaid loans and alleged financial offenses. Indian authorities sought his return and filed extradition requests in UK courts.
British judges ruled on extradition while Mallya pursued appeals and separate immigration steps. Proceedings in both countries involved asset seizures and settlements, and the matter remained active for an extended period.
Kim Dotcom
The tech entrepreneur lived in New Zealand when US authorities unsealed indictments in 2012 and coordinated a raid with local police. He fought extradition from New Zealand for years with appeals that examined treaty language and procedural questions.
Courts in New Zealand issued rulings at different stages while Dotcom remained in the country. Parallel civil seizures and legal actions involved assets and domain names, and the extradition matter progressed slowly through the appellate system.
Lindsay Lohan
A Los Angeles judge issued a bench warrant in 2010 after she missed a required hearing while she was in France for the Cannes Film Festival. Her absence triggered immediate legal steps, and the court set conditions for quashing the warrant upon her return.
She flew back to the United States and appeared before the judge days later. The court then addressed probation terms, classes, and future compliance, and the missed appearance became one part of a longer record of supervision.
Tay K
The rapper cut off a court ordered ankle monitor in Texas in 2017 while facing serious charges and left the Dallas area. He traveled to multiple states and posted online about being on the run, which drew widespread attention to the case.
US Marshals and local police arrested him in New Jersey later that year. He was returned to Texas for prosecution, and subsequent sentences reflected both the original charges and his actions while a fugitive.
Diego Maradona
Italian authorities pursued him for tax arrears linked to his time playing in Naples and obtained orders that limited his ability to return without seizure actions. He avoided traveling to Italy for many years, and authorities seized valuables when he did appear during short visits.
Tax authorities and courts continued to calculate liabilities and interest across decades. Negotiations and legal rulings in Italy and abroad played out while he primarily lived in Argentina and other countries.
Patty Hearst
After being abducted in 1974, she appeared in communications from the group that held her and was later recorded participating in crimes. She remained at large with members of the group and moved between safe houses to evade a nationwide search.
FBI agents arrested her in San Francisco in 1975, and prosecutors pursued a high profile case that focused on her conduct while a fugitive. She was convicted and later received clemency and a pardon, closing the legal chapter many years after her capture.
Howard Marks
The British author and former smuggler used multiple identities and moved through countries to avoid arrest while international agencies investigated his networks. He lived openly in some places under assumed names and ran businesses while evading detection.
Authorities arrested him in Spain in 1988 on a US warrant, and he was extradited to the United States. He served time in federal prison, then returned to the UK after release and published his account of the years he spent on the run.
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