MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A multimillion-dollar COVID relief fraud case has taken a flip after the FBI says fugitive Elaine Escoe was captured in Jamaica and returned to South Florida.
41-year-old Elaine Escoe, who was featured on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters List, was taken into custody by Jamaican authorities after investigators say they acquired a tip about her whereabouts.
Prosecutors say Escoe fled the nation after failing to seem in court docket in May 2025, sparking a federal warrant for her arrest.
She was returned to the Southern District of Florida Saturday to face fees tied to an alleged multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving pandemic relief applications, per earlier stories.
According to court docket paperwork, Escoe and her alleged co-conspirators submitted fraudulent purposes looking for greater than $32 million from applications together with the Paycheck Protection Program, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Investigators allege the group used pretend tax paperwork, fabricated financial institution information and false enterprise data to receive the funds. Prosecutors say some purposes had been submitted for pretend or managed companies, whereas others concerned third events who paid kickbacks of up to 50% of the cash acquired.
Federal officers say the proceeds had been later laundered amongst these concerned.
Escoe is the final remaining defendant charged in the alleged scheme. Several others have already been convicted or pleaded responsible, together with Alfred Davis, who was sentenced to practically 20 years in federal jail.
“The FBI and our partners will continue to pursue fugitives wherever they go,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones stated. “Defendants cannot escape accountability simply by leaving the country.”
The FBI stated Escoe’s arrest marks the fourth capture of an individual on its Most Wanted Fraudsters List in latest weeks.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s West Palm Beach Resident Agency, with help from Homeland Security Investigations Miami and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.
