"Unorthodox fugitive" who escaped Colorado prison 5 years ago is captured in Florida, officials say

A Colorado inmate on the run for five years was captured in Florida, U.S. Marshals announced Wednesday. 

On August 1, deputy U.S. Marshals arrested 58-year-old Allen Todd May at a residence in an upscale neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, officials said in a news release. 

May was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2012 after being convicted of mail fraud in Texas, U.S. Marshals said.

In Jan. 2018, May was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institute in Englewood, Colorado, and in Dec. 2018, he was discovered to be missing. U.S. Marshals had been actively searching for May since his disappearance.

An indictment in June 2022 charged May with 10 counts of wire fraud and seven counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleged that while he was in prison, May obtained more than $700,000 in fraudulent claims in oil and gas royalties, U.S. Marshals said. 

In September 2022, U.S. Marshals asked the public to help find May, offering a potential reward of up $5,000 for information that led to his capture. Tips began flooding in. 

On July 25, a tipster provided a photo of a man they believed to be May that had appeared on the Palm Beach Daily News' website. 

"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. 

U.S. Marshals Service investigators set up surveillance and eventually tracked May's suspected partner to a home in Fort Lauderdale, where they located May and took him into custody, officials said.

"I'd like to recognize and thank the anonymous tipster for the information they provided that directly led to the arrest of this unorthodox fugitive," District of Colorado U.S. Marshal Kirk Taylor said in a statement. "I would also like to thank and recognize the incredible tenacity of the Deputy U.S. Marshals who pursued every lead over the years in the District of Colorado, culminating in the arrest in the Southern District of Florida last night."

May is set to be transferred back to Colorado, officials said.