Jamaica’s ‘Annie Palmer’ makes FBI’s most wanted fraudsters list

A Jamaican woman wanted for her alleged role in a US$34-million COVID-19 relief fund fraud scheme has made the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) most wanted fraudsters list.

She has been listed as 41-year-old Elaine Angene Escoe last seen in South Florida.

The FBI has offered a reward of US$150,000 for information leading to her arrest and conviction.

She is one of the first eight fugitives to make the new list announced by FBI Director Kash Patel.

According to the FBI, Escoe was last seen in Palm Beach County on June 3, 2025 and had been scheduled for an appearance in court two days later but never showed up. A federal arrest warrant was issued for her on May 22, 2025.

The FBI alleged that between May 2020 and November 2021, Escoe and others allegedly submitted more than 90 fraudulent applications for funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury disaster loans, Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venture Operations Grants (SVOG).

According to officials, the applications allegedly contained false information regarding employee counts, payroll expenses and business revenues.

They said that the scheme resulted in the wrongful disbursement of about US$29 million in PPP funds and US$3.88 million in SVOG funds.

They further alleged that after the funds were disbursed, Escoe and others directed payments to each other and to businesses they controlled, withdrew large sums in cash and used blank, signed cheques to conceal the origin and nature of the proceeds.

Escoe, according to the officials, faced multiple charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and transactional money laundering.

The FBI said that she has aliases of ‘Annie’ and ‘Annie Palmer’.

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