A Palm Beach County woman accused of fleeing the country after orchestrating one of South Florida's largest COVID-relief scams has returned in federal custody.
Prosecutors say Elaine Escoe, 41, helped steal more than $32 million meant to support small businesses during the pandemic. Indicted in May 2025, she flew to Jamaica and earned a spot on the FBI's Most Wanted Fraudster list.
The agency began circulating photos of the Olympic Heights High School graduate and the promise of a $150,000 reward on June 9. A tip to Jamaican authorities paved the way for her arrest seven weeks later.
"Under this administration, fraud is no longer tolerated," said FBI Director Kash Patel, who announced her capture July 27. "Those who steal from American taxpayers
have nowhere to hide."
Prosecutors: Escoe and accomplices used shell companies to bilk government of millions
According to court records, Escoe remained abroad under the alias Harley Newman while her five accused co-conspirators fought the dozens of wire fraud and money laundering charges against them.
Prosecutors said the group submitted more than 90 sham applications to federal relief programs between 2020 and 2021, using fabricated employee counts, payroll figures and IRS records to generate tens of millions of dollars.
Some denied the charges at trial and lost. Others pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
In letters ahead of their sentencing hearings, they described Escoe as the architect of the scheme who'd left them to face the consequences alone. Attorneys for each argued they were "lured into the scheme" and "made the mistake of trusting the wrong person."
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon gave prison sentences ranging from three years to two decades. If convicted, Escoe faces up to 20 years in prison for each of the more than 50 charges she faces.
Woman on FBI's Most Wanted Fraudsters list graduated from a Boca Raton high school
According to court records, Escoe is a Jamaican immigrant who came to South Florida at age 9. She graduated from Olympic Heights High School in Boca Raton with a 3.8 GPA and earned degrees in psychology and finance from Lynn University.
A federal jury in South Florida convicted Escoe of wire fraud in 2024 for submitting a fraudulent loan application to the online lender Bluevine Financial. Her attorney at the time, Brian Kirlew, called the case a crime with no victim because Bluevine rejected the application and suffered no financial loss.
Friends and family wrote letters to the court describing Escoe as loyal, compassionate and remorseful. Her older sister, Toyce Newsome, said Escoe had been shaped by difficult relationships, including an abusive ex-husband and boyfriend, and had drifted from the ambition that carried her through college.
Despite their pleas for leniency, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian sentenced Escoe to six months in prison and one year of supervised release in August 2024. Escoe was serving supervised release when, in May 2025, a federal grand jury indicted her and her co-defendants on 56 counts of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FBI captures Palm Beach County grad accused in $32 million COVID scam
