Colorado conman Allen Todd May who escaped fed prison caught living lavishly in $1.5M Florida mansion

A conman who escaped from a federal prison in Colorado in 2018 was arrested in Florida, where he appeared to be living in the lap of luxury at a $1.5 million mansion, police said.

Allen Todd May, 58, was nabbed by police Monday at his Fort Lauderdale home, where US Marshals noted he was wearing a Rolex watch and driving a $125,000 Mercedes Benz.

The arrest came after an anonymous tip that May had taken up a new persona — Jacob Turner, a wealthy man who frequented the West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale area.

May even attended a fancy fundraiser for the Palm Beach Society in June, where he was pictured schmoozing with prominent locals and featured on the Palm Beach Daily News site.

The photo of May enjoying the limelight, however, appeared to be his undoing — a tipster noticed it and informed police on June 25.

“Very flashy. He was flaunting his wealth,” Katrina Crouse, chief deputy US Marshal for Colorado, told Fox31. “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.”

May escaped the Englewood Federal Correctional Institution on Dec. 21, 2018, nine years short of his 20-year prison sentence for securities fraud — stealing $6.8 million through a Ponzi scheme.

Officials said the conman swiped a Bureau of Prisons truck and drove out of the facility without arousing suspicion.

Records show he then rented a U-Haul truck in Denver, which was later found abandoned behind a Waffle House in Fort Worth, Texas.

On Dec. 22, 2022, US Marshal officials said May was spotted at his mother’s house in Houston, but the trail turned cold — until the tip about Jacob Turner came.

“This was huge,” Crouse said of the tip. “This gentleman, because of his fraud background, was very good at eluding capture.”

May was booked at the Palm Beach County jail; on Wednesday, a federal judge ordered him to be transported back to Colorado.

An investigation continues on whether May committed additional fraud while on the run, and he faces more charges following allegations he cashed in on $700,000 from fake energy companies that he set up while behind bars.

Federal investigators alleged May set up sham companies in Texas to declare himself the legal owner of unclaimed oil and gas royalties in Kansas, Louisiana and North Dakota — and then instructed a friend to deposit the earnings into his accounts.

A representative for May could not be immediately reached for comment.