Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com	Enlarge
Stealing jewelry

An elderly American couple who disappeared without a trace a year and four months ago after a judge ordered them to hand over two expensive polished diamonds have been tracked to a small village in France, where authorities put them under arrest, the Huffington Post reports.

 

The American government now has two months to formally submit a request to extradite the couple. The couple, Michael and Linda Mastro, have been indicted on 43 counts of money laundering and bankruptcy fraud in a U.S. court. One of these charges alleges that the Mastros lied when they told a court they did not know the whereabouts of a 27.8-carat diamond and a 15.9-carat diamond, in order to prevent them from being tabulated by creditors after they filed for bankruptcy. Together, the two stones are thought to be worth approximately $1.4 million.

 

Michael Mastro is said to owe lenders about $200 million, according to the Huffingtom Post.