The Justice Department said that a woman listed as one of the FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters has been hauled back to the U.S. after she was caught hiding out in Jamaica for the past year.
Federal officials said Elaine Angene Escoe, 41, was moved from the Caribbean nation to the U.S. over the weekend to face charges in a $32 million fraud scheme that stole COVID-19 relief funds from the government.
Ms. Escoe originally fled the U.S. in May 2025 following her indictment on wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges in connection to the plot, prosecutors said.
But FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency continued to investigate the defendant’s whereabouts, and soon learned she was living in Jamaica under the alias of “Harley Newman.”
Federal agents coordinated with Jamaican authorities to capture Ms. Escoe after being tipped off about her exact location.
“This Most Wanted Fraudster allegedly obtained tens of millions in COVID-19 relief, stealing critical resources from legitimate businesses during a national crisis,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday in a statement.
“She fled the country believing she could escape justice but ultimately could not. Those who exploit taxpayer-funded programs will be held accountable by this Department of Justice, no matter how long it takes or where they attempt to hide,” he added.
Court documents said Ms. Escoe and her coconspirators made off with more than $32 million in federal assistance after exploiting several COVID-era emergency funds, such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, Paycheck Protection Program, Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
The filing said the suspects submitted phony tax documents, bank records and other financial materials on their more than 90 loan and grant applications submitted between May 2020 and November 2021.
Prosecutors said the fraudsters duped government administrators by falsifying information about the number of employees they had, their payroll expenses and how much revenue their businesses normally brought in.
Some of the applications were for businesses run by other conspirators, officials said, while other applications were sent in for third parties in exchange for kickbacks that went up as much as half of the loan payouts.
The DOJ said the conspirators spread the federal dollars around to each other and the businesses they controlled. They also withdrew large sums in cash and used blank, signed checks to obscure how they received the money.
“The historic success of the ’Most Wanted Fraudster’ list continues as the FBI and our partners just captured our fourth Most Wanted Fraudster in 5 weeks, and yet another high value target returned to the U.S. by this FBI,” Mr. Patel said in a statement.
Ms. Escoe was the final defendant to be taken into custody as part of the investigation into this scheme.
Last year, a federal jury convicted coconspirators Latoya Clark, Alfred Davis and Cher Davis for their roles in the fraud ring. Fellow conspirators Gino Jourdan and James McGhow had already pleaded guilty.
Alfred Davis was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for his part in the scheme. Cher Davis received more than seven years. Clark received almost six years. Jourdan and McGhow each received more than three years.
