Quashon Burton, who authorities have been looking for since 2021, was spotted at Disney World by Jeff Andre, an inspector with the United States Postal Inspection Service who filed the criminal complaint against Burton a year ago, according to reports.
A New York City fugitive who had been on the run since November 2021 was arrested at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, according to published reports.
On Oct. 21, Jeff Andre, an inspector with the United States Postal Inspection Service, was on vacation at the Orlando theme park when he saw Quashon Burton — a man authorities had been on the search for since last year, according to published reports.
Almost a year ago in November 2021, Andre signed the the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York’s complaint against Burton, which accused him of stealing people's identities to receive the fraudulent loans and alleging he attempted to convert some of the funds into postal money orders, according to published reports.
Federal court documents said, “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,” according to CNN.
Burton was indicted on federal charges last December, including theft of government funds, conspiracy to steal government funds and aggravated identity theft, according to published reports.
Authorities came to his last known address in Brooklyn three separate times starting in December, but were unable to locate Burton and told by his mother that he would not be surrendering, according to CNN.
Burton was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff's Office at the park per Andre’s alert, and the sheriff's office told ABC News that Andre recognized Burton because of a distinctive "H" tattoo on his neck.
According to Insider, court documents show that Burton entered the park using a false name and that he had resisted arrest "by telling law enforcement that he was not Quashon Burton," even after fingerprints confirmed his identity.
In the Orange County Sheriff’s Office’s incident report, authorities said a deputy approached Burton at a bus stop near the amusement park and asked for identification, according to CNN.
Burton then questioned why he needed to provide it before the deputy tried to handcuff Burton and he allegedly resisted by stiffening his arms, according to CNN. The deputy took him to the ground and secured him and Burton was charged with resisting an officer without violence, per the outlet.
Nicholas Biase, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, told Insider that Burton was then transferred to federal custody and is currently detained in Florida, pending transfer to New York.
According to CNN, federal prosecutors have argued against his release on bail, believing Burton “poses an extreme risk of flight.”
A hearing date has not yet been scheduled, according to reports.
