---
title: "The Christmassy Criminalist: A Santa Clause Heist"
description: "In 1927, Marshall Ratliff and his crew robbed a Texas bank dressed as Santa Claus and his elves, sparking a chaotic shootout, manhunt, and one of the most bizarre true crime stories in American history."
url: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/the-christmassy-criminalist-a-santa-clause-heist.md
canonical: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/the-christmassy-criminalist-a-santa-clause-heist
datePublished: 2026-06-25
dateModified: 2026-06-25
author:
  - name: Dana Ortiz
    url: https://casualcriminalist.pub/author/dana-ortiz
publisher: Casual Criminalist
image: "https://media.casualcriminalist.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/mbsA9NaJKRo/hero.jpg"
type: Article
contentHash: 92eddb302abaa495904b96195cac83d66aa0dc392de1cc96246d03e97b6936ad
tokens: 51
summaryUrl: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/the-christmassy-criminalist-a-santa-clause-heist.md.summary.md
---

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In 1927, Marshall Ratliff and his crew robbed a Texas bank dressed as Santa Claus and his elves, sparking a chaotic shootout, manhunt, and one of the most bizarre true crime stories in American history.
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