Nationwide — Elaine Angene Escoe, who is accused of helping steal more than $34 million in COVID relief funds, is wanted by the FBI after skipping a court date and disappearing from Florida in June.
According to Atlanta News First, federal investigators said Escoe joined others in a scheme that submitted more than 90 fraudulent applications for pandemic assistance programs between May 2020 and November 2021. The funds were drawn from programs like the Paycheck Protection Program, which was designed to help struggling businesses.
Once the money was released, the group allegedly funneled payments to one another and to businesses under their control. They withdrew large amounts in cash, exchanged blank signed checks, and moved funds between accounts to hide where the money came from.
On May 22, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Escoe. She faces charges that include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, and both concealment and transactional money laundering.
Escoe was notified of a scheduled court appearance on June 5 but never showed up. The FBI said she was last seen on June 3 in Palm Beach County, Florida. She is believed to have fled the area.
The FBI says Escoe also goes by the alias Annie Palmer. She is a Jamaican national with connections to both Jamaica and southern Florida. She is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and several tattoos on her wrist, abdomen, back, and right shoulder.
The FBI is asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact them.