FBI believes wanted Russian immigrant could be ‘hiding’ as a truck driver or dispatcher

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has offered a cash reward for an Ohio man who they believe may be working in the trucking industry.

A September 19 news release from the FBI is offering a reward of up to $5000 for information leading to the arrest of 34 year old Izmir Ali Koch.

The FBI says that Koch was convicted on hate crime charges after beating a man he believed to be Jewish outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, restaurant in February 2017.

Authorities say that Koch was ordered to self-surrender to a prison in West Virginia on August 16, 2019, but failed to report.

After Koch failed to report to serve his prison sentence, the FBI says that an indictment was filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, Western Division, Cincinnati, Ohio, for failure to surrender for service of sentence as ordered by the court, and a federal arrest warrant was issued on September 4, 2019.

Koch is described as 5’8″ and weighing 143 to 160 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. He speaks Russian, a dialect of Turkish, and English. Koch has dual U.S. and Russian citizenship and his previous residences include Huber Heights and Dayton, Ohio, as well as Holmsk, Krasnadar, Russia.

The FBI says that Koch is “familiar” with the trucking industry and believe that he may be working as either a dispatcher or a truck driver.

The FBI warns that Koch should be considered armed and dangerous.

If you have information that could lead to Koch’s arrest, you’re asked to call FBI’s Cincinnati Field Office at (513) 421-4310.h