FBI fraud fugitive Elaine Esco arrested in Jamaica, returned to Florida

A woman on the FBI’s most-wanted fraud list has been sent back to the Southern District of Florida to face federal charges over an alleged scheme that secured more than US$32 million in COVID-19 relief funds.

Elaine Esco, 41, was indicted in 2025 on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, plus multiple counts of wire fraud and money laundering. After a federal warrant was issued in May 2025, she missed a court date and fled to Jamaica, where she lived under the alias Harley Newman. Acting on FBI information and a tip, Jamaican authorities arrested her.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said she allegedly took tens of millions in pandemic aid from legitimate businesses, fled believing she could escape justice, and that those who abuse taxpayer programmes will be held to account “no matter how long it takes or where they attempt to hide.” She was returned to South Florida through work by the FBI, the US Marshals Service, the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service at the embassy in Kingston, the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the JCF Jamaica Fugitive Apprehension Team. Esco is the last defendant still facing charges in the case after a December 2025 trial.

In Manchester, preliminary reports say several armed men traded gunfire with police in the Horseshoe Corner, Caledonia Meadows area of Mandeville. Three of the gunmen were shot and killed by officers.

St. Catherine South police also arrested a man linked to the killing of taxi operator Andre McKenzie, 36, of Rural Close, Watson Grove, Gregory Park, who was shot dead on Dawkins Drive, Portmore, about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. An intelligence-led operation in Portsmouth on Wednesday, July 22, recovered an FN 9 mm pistol with a magazine holding two rounds, concealed in bushes. The suspect’s name is being withheld.

Works minister Robert Nesta Morgan said road repairs will ramp up ahead of the new school year, with contractors already contracted for main-road works islandwide. Extra funding under the Go Road Rehabilitation Programme will target urgent national routes, especially western Jamaica and corridors needing quick attention, through December, with the National Works Agency inspecting standards. Morgan said the focus includes school routes and busy transport corridors, citing intense work in Kingston areas such as Tom Redcam Avenue, Arthur Wint Drive, Upper Waterloo Road, West Kings House Road and the Boulevard, aiming for pothole-free stretches after damage linked to Hurricane Melissa under a $1.6 billion programme.

The People’s National Party may face a leadership contest next year between President Mark Golding and Northwest St. Catherine MP Damien Crawford, the education spokesperson, who told Nationwide News he intends to challenge. Golding has accepted. Commentator Germaine Barrett called Crawford a credible challenger and Golding a strong opponent.

South St. James MP Natasha Berthel publicly said she fears for her safety and lacks state-funded protection. Criminologist Dr Jason McKay argued on Lead Story that she should have used private channels rather than go public, noting close protection is most needed for roles such as prosecutors, judges and certain ministers, and that private security can fill gaps given limited police numbers.

Separately, about 41 farmers in Hartlands, St. Catherine, are preparing for a community irrigation scheme involving the agriculture ministry, the National Irrigation Commission and Sugar Company of Jamaica Holdings. Residents there also pressed for reliable domestic water; South Central St. Catherine MP Dr Andrew Wheatley said farm water works and wider development should help the fewer than 50 households.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said Jamaica will keep vegetable imports tightly controlled amid a US cyclospora outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce, with more than 7,000 suspected and nearly 4,200 confirmed cases from May 1 to July 20, a 27-state recall and over 300 hospitalisations. He stressed phytosanitary checks and said local greenhouse growers recovering from Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa are not yet positioned to fill an export gap.

July 25 also marked Rita Marley’s 80th birthday, with her foundation hosting celebrations at Tuff Gong International under the theme “Thank You Jah.”