A New York City fugitive who had been on the run for nearly a year was apprehended last month after a federal officer working his case miraculously spotted him while on vacation at Walt Disney World.
On Oct. 20, federal postal inspector Jeff Andre was hanging out in the Animal Kingdom area of the Florida amusement park when he happened to see Quashon Burton, who fled his Brooklyn home last November after being accused of fraudulently obtaining coronavirus relief aid, according to WDWNT.
Andre, who signed the criminal complaint against Burton, recognized the 31-year-old fugitive by a unique cursive letter H tattoo on his neck.
Burton was accused of stealing the identities of at least four people in order to fraudulently take out government PPP loans meant to help businesses struggling during the pandemic, according to the federal complaint.
Prosecutors said Burton obtained the cash by using an ATM to purchase money orders from a New York City post office after the loans were approved.
He allegedly stole approximately $150,000 in forgivable federal loans in total.
In the complaint, prosecutors noted that Burton “has clearly demonstrated an ability to mask his true identity to evade law enforcement. So too has he demonstrated a willingness to lie about this identity to avoid arrest.”
When law enforcement officers went to bust Burton at his home, he was nowhere to be found and was declared a fugitive.
While at large, Burton allegedly continued to use fake identities — including for his visit to Disney World, WDWNT reported.
According to a sheriff’s report obtained by the outlet, after seeing Burton around 3 p.m., Andre called the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and informed them that a fugitive was in the amusement park.
Police confirmed that Andre was a federal postal inspector and reviewed a photograph of Burton before confronting him an hour later as he waited at a bus stop with two of his family members, according to the report.
Burton refused to show his ID when a deputy asked for it and resisted arrest until the deputy took him down to the ground.
He refused to admit he was Quashon Burton even after fingerprints proved his true identity. He was charged with resisting arrest and handed over into federal custody.
Middle Florida Magistrate Judge David Baker ruled on Oct. 27 that Burton could be released with electronic monitoring and pretrial supervision in New York, among other conditions, according to WDWNT.
Prosecutors in New York requested that Burton be held in custody, citing his “extreme risk of flight.” On Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York agreed and ruled that he should be held without bail until his trial.
source:nsemwokrom.com