Bluffstein, Sophie (1854–1891)

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Bluffstein, Sophie (1854–1891)

Russian swindler. Name variations: The Golden Hand. Born 1854 in Russia; died 1891 in Russia.

Known to criminal colleagues as the "Golden Hand," often posed as a well-to-do woman and ordered rare jewels; after valuables arrived, made off with the goods before payment could be collected; wanted by authorities throughout Europe, was apprehended in Smolensk, Russia, where she was set free by the governor, whom she seduced; caught again by police, served in the Alexandrovsk Prison in Siberia; after release, opened an inn in Vladivostok.

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