The United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering a US$150,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a Jamaican woman said to have been involved in a US$32 million COVID funds fraud scheme.

Wanted by US authorities for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the scheme is Elaine Angene Escoe.

The FBI says Escoe and her five co-defendants, all of whom have either been found guilty at trial or have pleaded guilty, allegedly submitted more than 90 fraudulent applications for funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) between May of 2020, and November of 2021.