How was Allen Todd found? Fugitive captured 4 years after escaping federal prison

Allen Todd May, a 58-year-old escaped convict from a federal prison in Littleton, Colorado, was finally been apprehended by authorities on Tuesday, August 1, at his home in Fort Lauderdale. Todd escaped the Englewood Federal correctional Institution in December 21, 2018, after he obtained access to a truck belonging to the Bureau of Prisons and used it to escape unnoticed.

Thereafter, authorities were able to identify a credit card transaction that he made and were also able to place him at his mother’s house soon after, but eventually lost the trail.

However, Allen Todd has finally been found after an anonymous tipster contacted authorities and told them that the former had assumed a new name -- Jacob Turner -- and was living a luxurious life in the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale area. The convict will be transferred back to Colorado and is not fighting his extradition.

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Allen Todd may have committed white-collar crimes even when he was in custody

Allen Todd was indicted for multiple counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of escape in June 2022. Prior to this, he was in custody from 2016-2018, during which time he is suspected of establishing fake energy businesses and using them to commit fraud by claiming oil and gas royalties. He allegedly committed fraud to the tune of $700,000 at this said time, during which he was assisted by an accomplice who is identified by the initials L.M. As per the terms of the indictment:

“May gave L.M. directions about how, when, and where to deposit those checks…[and] obtained more than $700,000 as a result of his scheme.”

After Allen Todd escaped from prison, authorities initially found that he used his credit card to take a U-Haul truck on rent in Denver, which he left behind a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas. The next day, he was spotted at his mother’s Houston home but authorities failed to apprehend him.

After the anonymous tipster told authorities of Allen Todd’s assumed new identity and his extravagant lifestyle, he was also spotted in a picture published in the Palm Beach Daily News from a fundraiser in mid-May 2023.

When Todd was finally arrested, he was driving a Mercedes and was wearing a Rolex watch. His home is allegedly valued at approximately $1.5 million. Katrina Crouse, chief deputy U.S. Marshal for Colorado, said the following about Todd’s lifestyle:

“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”

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Allen Todd was presented in court on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 in a federal courthouse in Florida. He will be extradited back to Colorado by the end of August and will not be fighting his extradition.