FBI Hunts Palm Beach Woman Accused of Stealing $34 Million in COVID-19 Relief Fraud
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Federal authorities are searching for a Palm Beach County woman accused of orchestrating a massive $34 million COVID-19 relief fraud scheme, after she vanished just days before a scheduled court appearance.
The FBI Miami Field Office announced this week that 40-year-old Elaine Angene Escoe is wanted in connection with what investigators are calling one of the more complex pandemic aid fraud cases in the region. A federal arrest warrant was issued on June 5, after Escoe failed to appear in court. She was last seen in Palm Beach County on June 3 and is now considered a fugitive.
Escoe is accused of masterminding a scheme that involved filing more than 90 fraudulent applications between May 2020 and November 2021. According to investigators, she targeted multiple federal pandemic relief programs, including:
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF)
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG)
Authorities allege that Escoe used fabricated payroll records, inflated employee numbers, and falsified revenue information to obtain the funds. She is described in the federal indictment as the ringleader of a broader conspiracy involving multiple co-conspirators.
“This case involving multiple co-conspirators and 90 or so applicants with $34 million, that is a much larger and more complicated kind of allegation than most PPP cases,” said David Tarras, a federal criminal defense attorney who has handled similar fraud cases.
Tarras emphasized the real-world impact of pandemic relief fraud, saying, “People were dying during COVID, and those people maybe could’ve used that money to keep their businesses alive. That money wasn’t available.”
Escoe faces multiple charges, including:
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Conspiracy to commit money laundering
Wire fraud
Concealment of money laundering
Transactional money laundering
The FBI believes Escoe may have fled the country and could be in Jamaica, where she reportedly has ties. She is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing approximately 140 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes, and multiple tattoos. She has also been known to use aliases such as “Annie” and “Annie Palmer.” Anyone with information on Escoe’s whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI Miami Field Office or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
