FIRST ON FOX: One of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives in an alleged COVID-19 fraud case is back in the United States. Authorities captured her in Jamaica, where FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News she lived under the fake identity ‘Harley Newman’ to evade charges related to a $32 million pandemic relief fraud.
Elaine Angene Escoe, 41, returned to South Florida after Jamaican authorities arrested her following a federal manhunt. Prosecutors accuse her of fraudulently obtaining more than $32 million in COVID-19 relief funds, then fleeing the country after missing her scheduled court appearance.
Escoe was indicted in 2025 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and multiple counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Federal prosecutors stated that a judge issued an arrest warrant when Escoe failed to appear in court in May 2025. Authorities claim she fled to Jamaica, where the FBI located and arrested her following a tip-off.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized, ‘Elaine Angene Escoe’s arrest and return to the United States demonstrates that no one is beyond the reach of American justice.’ He noted Escoe’s role in a scheme defrauding taxpayer-funded COVID-19 relief programs and asserted that the Justice Department will continue to prosecute those stealing from the American public.
FBI International Fraud Crackdown Success
Patel highlighted Escoe’s arrest as a milestone in the FBI’s international fraud crackdown. She is the fourth alleged ‘Most Wanted Fraudster’ captured in five weeks. ‘The historic success of the ‘Most Wanted Fraudster’ list continues as the FBI and our partners captured our fourth Most Wanted Fraudster in 5 weeks, and another high-value target returned to the U.S.,’ Patel said. ‘Elaine Angene Escoe, on the run since May 2025, was captured in Jamaica living under a fake identity.’
Escoe is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering related to fraudulently obtaining over $32 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. Since June, the FBI has returned over 30 high-value targets to the U.S. Four alleged fraud suspects captured recently are collectively charged with nearly $1.8 billion in fraud after being fugitives for over 3,500 days across three continents.
Patel concluded, ‘Under this administration, fraud is no longer tolerated — those who steal from American taxpayers have nowhere to hide.’
Authorities stated that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service, Jamaican law enforcement, and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office coordinated Escoe’s return to the U.S.
Brittany Miller is a Fox News Digital breaking news writer and former Independent reporter who graduated from Syracuse University in 2023.
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