A visitor to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando went from looking at animals behind bars to being behind them himself after being outed and apprehended as a New York City fugitive.
Quashon Burton was on the lam after fleeing his Brooklyn residence in Nov. 2021. Mr. Burton is alleged to have at least four identities in order to take out government COVID-19 loans intended for small businesses. Mr. Burton is accused of stealing $150,000 in COVID relief money.
“The defendant used fraudulent email accounts, fake identification documents, bank accounts and bank cards in the names of other individuals … in a manner that created a complex web of identities that made his crimes difficult to investigate,” court documents read, according to CNN.
Mr. Burton had evaded capture for months when his visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom with family coincided with that of Jeff Andre, a U.S. postal inspector who had himself signed the criminal complaint against Mr. Burton.
Just after 3 p.m. on Oct. 20, Mr. Andre recognized a distinct tattoo on Mr. Burton’s neck, a cursive “H”, and informed the local authorities, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, that a fugitive was present in the park.
After taking the time to verify both Mr. Andre and to review a picture of Mr. Burton, the sheriff’s office jumped into action. More than an hour after Mr. Andre’s warning, officers apprehended Mr. Burton at a bus stop outside the theme park.
“I advised [Mr. Burton] that I needed to speak with him about the possible suspicious activity he was involved in … [Mr. Burton] refused to identify himself during my investigation … Based on [Mr. Burton]’s resistance, he was charged with resisting an officer without violence,” authorities noted, according to Disney World news site WDW News Today.
Mr. Burton had used another fake identity to visit the theme park and refused to admit to his legal identity even after being verified by fingerprints.
Mr. Burton is now in federal custody. On Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York granted a request by prosecutors to keep Mr. Burton in custody without bail, due to his being a flight risk.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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