Boston Security Director Charged With Pandemic Relief Fraud

BOSTON, MA — A city official has agreed to plead guilty to a wire fraud charge after obtaining federal pandemic relief funds under fraudulent pretenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced.

Reuben Taylor, 40, of Boston, reportedly received a $20,844 Paycheck Protection Program loan after submitting an application in April 2021 that falsely claimed he had worked as an auto mechanic in 2019. Taylor supported the application with a fabricated Form 1040 and Schedule C that claimed he had received no wages that year and instead earned $99,863 as an independent contractor working as a mechanic.

According to the charging documents, the tax return Taylor actually submitted to the IRS for 2019 reported $97,561 in wages as a municipal police officer. He also attached a Form W-2 from the City of Boston to that return.

Taylor reportedly applied for forgiveness of the loan in August 2021, claiming that he had spent the money on payroll for his purported auto mechanic business. The Small Business Administration forgave the loan in September 2021, essentially converting the money into a taxpayer-funded grant.

Taylor serves as the director of the city’s Municipal Protective Services and has worked for the division since 2008. Municipal Protective Services is an unarmed, non-sworn security division within Boston’s Property Management Department. Taylor has been charged and agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud. The charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, announced the charge. The IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Boston and the Boston Police Department assisted in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting.

A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.

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