FBI Captures Alleged $32M COVID Fraud Fugitive in Jamaica
Authorities say Escoe was the last defendant charged in the scheme and the FBI offered a $150,000 reward for her arrest.
- On Saturday, Jamaican authorities arrested Elaine Angene Escoe and returned her to South Florida to face federal wire-fraud and money-laundering charges stemming from a $32 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
- Between May 2020 and November 2021, Escoe and associates submitted more than 90 fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant funds.
- The scheme wrongfully disbursed approximately $29.1 million in PPP funds, $1.2 million in RRF funds, and $3.8 million in SVOG funds. The FBI named Escoe to its "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list in June, offering up to $150,000 for information leading to her arrest.
- Escoe had been a fugitive since failing to appear for a scheduled court date on June 5, 2025. Following a 2025 trial, co-defendants Alfred Davis, Cher Davis, and Latoya Clark were convicted, with sentences reaching 235 months.
- As the final defendant charged in the scheme, Escoe's return closes the chapter on a sprawling criminal enterprise. James McGhow and Gino Jourdan previously pleaded guilty, leaving prosecutors to now litigate the case against her in federal court.
49 Articles
49 Articles
FBI Says $32 Million COVID-19 Fraud Fugitive Captured in Jamaica and Returned to US
A fugitive on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters List was returned to Florida to face federal charges for her alleged role in a $32 million federal COVID-19 relief fund fraud. Elaine Escoe, 41, was charged by indictment in 2025 with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, as well as multiple substantive counts of wire fraud and money laundering. Escoe had been on the run since May 2025 and was captured in Jamaica while living under…
FBI's Most Wanted Fraud Fugitive Arrested In Jamaica In Connection With $32 Million Scheme - The American Tribune.com
An individual who is one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) most wanted alleged COVID fraud fugitives has now been returned to the United States to face justice for her crimes after finally being apprehended in Jamaica. FBI Director Kash Patel spoke with Fox News and revealed the suspect had been living under a fake name, “Harley Newman,” while attempting to evade charges that connected her to an alleged $32 million pandemic relief f…
Elaine Angene Escoe, a 41-year-old Jamaican citizen, returned to U.S. custody after being detained in Jamaica, where she had remained hidden since 2025.The woman was on the list of the most wanted fraudsters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and will be held accountable to a South Florida District court for various charges related to fraud and money laundering.How Covid-19's alleged fraud with aid funds that the FBI investigatesAccord…
Elaine Angene Escoe returned to US after arrest in Jamaica
FBI’s ‘Most Wanted Fraudsters’ suspect faces multiple federal charges after months as an international fugitive. FBI A South Florida woman accused of orchestrating a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme has been returned to the United States after being arrested in Jamaica. Elaine Angene Escoe, 41, was taken into custody following an international manhunt and now faces federal charges linked to an alleged $32 million scheme involvin…
Woman accused of $32 million pandemic loan fraud extradited from Jamaica
Elaine Escoe, 41, was returned to the Southern District of Florida on Saturday to face federal charges connected to a scheme that allegedly fraudulently obtained more than $32 million in COVID-19 relief funds, according to the Department of Justice.
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