Authorities say a New York man who avoided arrest for over a year was apprehended while on vacation at Disney World when a case investigator spotted him.
Jeff Andre, a federal postal inspector, discovered Quashon Burton at Disney World in October, according to court documents reviewed by Insider. Burton had been on the run for a year after being suspected in an identity theft plot to steal $150,000 through pandemic loans.
According to court records, “in order to carry out his scam, Burton fraudulently obtained and used the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of at least four individuals.”
According to court documents, he was charged with conspiracy to steal government funds, theft of government funds, and aggravated identity theft.
In November 2021, US Postal Inspection Service officers attempted to arrest 32-year-old Burton at his Brooklyn residence, but he was not present. Officers visited the residence twice more, and Burton’s mother subsequently informed them that he would not “self-surrender,” according to court filings.
In a federal complaint signed by Andre, Burton was described as having a “complex web of aliases that made it difficult to investigate his offenses.”
“Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this case is the defendant’s frequent use of aliases and his demonstrated ability to dodge law enforcement,” according to court filings.
“He has exhibited a clear ability to conceal his genuine identity in order to elude law enforcement. Similarly, he has shown a readiness to mislead about his identity in order to avoid arrest.”
When Andre noticed Burton visiting Animal Kingdom on October 20, he notified the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, which deployed a deputy outside the park to stop Burton and two family members, according to The Daily Beast, which cited a report from the sheriff’s office.
According to the Daily Beast, the deputy’s report stated, “I instructed Quashon that I needed to speak with him about the possible questionable behavior he was participating in, and he questioned why he needed to present his identification.” “Later, I informed him that he was the subject of an arrest warrant, and when I sought to restrain him, he began tensing up and bracing his arms. Despite my repeated requests, he refused to place his hands behind his back.”
The Daily Beast said that after the deputy wrestled Burton to the ground during the arrest and added a charge of resisting an officer without violence, Burton was brought to the Orange County Jail and then transferred to federal custody.
Burton, who was on probation for a separate offense, allegedly visited Disney World under a false name and refused to identify himself by his legal name, as evidenced by federal paperwork.
“When he was apprehended in Disney World, he was in the park under a phony name. “Even when fingerprints verified his identity, he continued to insist to law authorities that he was not Quashon Burton,” a US attorney wrote in court documents seen by Insider, labeling Burton a “very evasive” and “flight risk.
According to court filings, a judge for the Southern District of New York ruled on Thursday that Burton should not be given bail prior to his trial, citing his repeated failures to appear in court.