FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - After evading authorities for nearly five years, a 58-year-old man from Colorado was apprehended in Fort Lauderdale.
Allen Todd May, a fugitive wanted on charges of fraud and escape since 2018, was located and arrested by Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Southern District of Florida and Task Force Officers from the Florida-Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force at a residence near East Cypress Creek Road and Northeast 18th Avenue on Tuesday night.
May’s journey as a fugitive began in February 2012 when he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for mail fraud in the Northern District of Texas. He was later transferred to the Federal Correctional Institute in Englewood, Colorado.
However, on December 21, 2018, during a prisoner count, May was discovered to be missing, prompting an escape notice and a nationwide search led by the U.S. Marshals.
A federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court of Colorado indicted May on June 22, 2022, for 10 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleged that while serving his sentence, May orchestrated fraudulent claims for unclaimed oil and gas royalties, totaling over $700,000. Additionally, he was indicted for his escape in 2018.
The U.S. Marshals Service issued a public statement in September 2022, offering a potential reward of up to $5,000 for any information leading to May’s capture. Since then, numerous tips were received from individuals across California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas and Florida.
One tipster, who remained anonymous, provided valuable information about potential online profiles and aliases May might be using, leading investigators to pursue leads across different states.
The breakthrough came on July 25 when the same tipster provided a photo of someone believed to be May, published on the website of the Palm Beach Daily News. This new information allowed investigators to narrow down a possible location for May in a penthouse apartment in Palm Beach, Florida.
On Aug. 1, while conducting surveillance on the Palm Beach apartment, investigators observed May’s suspected partner leaving the premises in a U-Haul rental truck. Following the partner for nearly 50 miles to Fort Lauderdale, U.S. Marshals and TFOs discovered a new address for May, a house near East Cypress Creek Road and Northeast 18th Avenue.
After observing May at the residence and confirming his identity, deputies and task force officers took him into custody while movers were unloading the U-Haul truck. He was subsequently transported and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.
May appeared before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday, where he was ordered detained. He will be transported back to the District of Colorado to face the charges against him.
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