A fugitive who escaped from a federal prison in Colorado five years ago was captured this week in Florida.
The U.S. Marshals said Wednesday that Allen Todd May, 58, was arrested Aug. 1 at a home in a swanky Fort Lauderdale neighborhood, where authorities say he was living a lavish life. May had previously been convicted of mail fraud in Texas and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2012.
He was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institute in Englewood, Colo. in Jan. 2018 and escaped that December after driving off in a Bureau of Prisons work truck without anyone noticing. He then rented a U-Haul in Denver which was later found behind a Waffle House in Fort Worth, Texas.
May had been the active subject of a Marshals search since he disappeared.
In 2022, while on the lam, he was indicted with 10 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud for more than $700,000 in fraudulent claims in oil and gas royalties while behind bars, Marshals said.
The agency received a number of tips, leading Marshals to California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, and Florida pursuing leads.
In July, the Marshals received a tip about a possible sighting after a photo of a man resembling May, but going by the name of Jacob Turner, was published by the Palm Beach Daily News.
“This new information, which included a new, previously unknown alias, allowed investigators to develop information about a possible location for May at a penthouse apartment in Palm Beach, Florida,” officials said.
Investigators then surveilled May’s suspected partner to a home in Fort Lauderdale, where they found and arrested May.
“This was huge. This was a very long, extensive investigation. This gentleman, because of his fraud background, was very good at eluding capture,” Katrina Crouse, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for Colorado, told Fox 31 in Denver.
May had been living an extravagant lifestyle, officials said. He was arrested in a home valued over $1.5 million while wearing a Rolex watch with a Mercedes in the driveway.
“Very flashy. He was flaunting his wealth. Whether he obtained that wealth legitimately or not is another question. But he was very good at flaunting his wealth while still trying to remain hidden,” Crouse told the station.
Officials said they would investigate whether May committed additional crimes while on the run.
May will be extradited back to Colorado, the Marshals said.
