A woman on the FBI’s Most Wanted Crooks list has been extradited from Jamaica to the United States after spending months on the run under a false identity, FBI Director Kash Patel said.According to the US Department of Justice, Elaine Angin Esco, 41, arrived in South Florida on Thursday after being arrested by Jamaican authorities following a federal manhunt.Prosecutors allege she helped coordinate a scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $32 million in taxpayer-funded Covid-19 relief funds before fleeing the United States after failing to appear in federal court.Esco was indicted in 2025 on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of money laundering.
A fake identity was allegedly used in Jamaica
According to the US Department of Justice, Esko fled to Jamaica after a federal arrest warrant was issued in May 2025.Authorities say she lived under the alias “Harley Newman” before investigators tracked her down with the help of information received by the FBI.The alleged fraud involved applications for several pandemic-era federal relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), the Closed Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
Investigators allege that Esko and her co-conspirators submitted fraudulent applications backed by false tax returns, fabricated bank records, and other false financial documents to obtain relief funds.Some applications were allegedly made to third parties in exchange for bribes of up to 50 percent of the loan proceeds.
Kash Patel praises recent FBI arrest
Announcing the arrest, FBI Director Kash Patel said Esko is the fourth “wanted fraudster” arrested in the past five weeks.“Elaine Angin Esco, who has been on the run since May 2025, was arrested in Jamaica while living under the fake identity ‘Harley Newman’ and returned to the United States today to face justice,” Patel said.He added that the FBI has returned more than 30 high-value fugitives to the United States since June, and said the four suspects arrested over the past five weeks are collectively charged with nearly $1.8 billion in fraud after spending more than 3,500 days on the run across three continents.
The other defendants have already been convicted
The Justice Department said Esko is the last remaining defendant charged in the alleged scheme.Five other defendants have already been convicted or pleaded guilty. Alfred Davis was sentenced to 235 months in prison, while others were sentenced to terms ranging from 42 to 87 months.Esko is expected to face federal proceedings in the Southern District of Florida. Her return was coordinated by the FBI, US Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, US State Department and Jamaican law enforcement agencies, authorities said.
