Current:Home > FinanceNYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme-InfoLens
NYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme
View Date:2024-12-23 11:26:56
NEW YORK (AP) — Several New York City employees were arrested Thursday for their alleged role in a scheme to steal the identities of homeless shelter residents and defraud a pandemic-era relief program.
Manhattan prosecutors brought charges against 18 people, including five employees of the city’s homeless services agency, an NYPD officer, an MTA worker, and two letter carriers for the U.S. Postal Service.
Beginning in April 2020, prosecutors allege the defendants worked together to obtain approximately $1.2 million in fraudulent pandemic unemployment benefits by filing bogus claims on behalf of 170 people — most of whom live in city-run homeless shelters.
“Stealing the identity of New Yorkers, many of them homeless, and defrauding a critical social safety net program in one of the most challenging times in our city’s history is downright shameful,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference. “This type of conduct by our public servants is unacceptable.”
Each of the defendants who were arraigned on Thursday afternoon pleaded not guilty to charges that included grand larceny, conspiracy, and burglary.
Prosecutors said they uncovered the benefits fraud while pursuing a separate case against two Department of Homeless Services employees for their alleged involvement in manufacturing ghost guns.
In the course of that investigation, they learned that several DHS employees were using their positions to steal the personal information of unwitting homeless residents, according to the criminal indictment.
They also enlisted a U.S. postal worker, instructing the Department of Labor to send the bank cards to addresses they knew were on his route so he could intercept them, prosecutors said.
As the scheme progressed, some of the participants turned against each other. At least two defendants are accused of stealing $30,000 from the home of a co-conspirator, who they believed was hoarding the proceeds.
One of the individuals allegedly involved in the burglary left her DHS job for a position at the NYPD, prosecutors said, before rejoining the homeless services agency after she was fired by the police department in 2022.
A second individual involved in the conspiracy worked as a school safety agent at the NYPD. She was terminated on Thursday, the police department said.
A spokesperson for DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Brands Our Editors Are Thankful For in 2024
- Has anyone ever had a perfect bracket for March Madness? The odds and precedents for NCAA predictions
- Lawrence County Superintendent Robbie Fletcher selected as Kentucky’s next education commissioner
- Tennessee becomes first state to pass a law protecting musicians against AI
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- Antitrust lawsuits accuse major US sugar companies of conspiring to fix prices
- Did grocery chains take advantage of COVID shortages to raise prices? FTC says yes
- Josh Peck Breaks Silence on Drake Bell's Quiet on Set Docuseries Revelation
- Ariana Grande's Brunette Hair Transformation Is a Callback to Her Roots
- New York Mets to sign J.D. Martinez, make big splash late to bolster lineup
Ranking
- Deommodore Lenoir contract details: 49ers ink DB to $92 million extension
- Horoscopes Today, March 21, 2024
- Chadwick Boseman's hometown renames performing arts center to 'honor his legacy'
- Chicago police officer wounded, man dead after gunfire exchanged during traffic stop, police say
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- Has anyone ever had a perfect bracket for March Madness? The odds and precedents for NCAA predictions
- Create a digital will or control what Meta shares with savvy tech tips
- The Top 56 Amazon Home Deals on Celeb-Loved Picks: Kyle Richards, Olivia Culpo, Nick Cannon & More
Recommendation
-
Here's Your First Look at The White Lotus Season 3 With Blackpink’s Lisa and More Stars
-
Amazon's Big Spring Sale Has Cheap Fitness Products That Actually Work (and Reviewers Love Them)
-
Veterans of top-secret WWII Ghost Army unit awarded Congressional Gold Medal
-
Texas Lawmaker Seeks to Improve Texas’ Power Capacity by Joining Regional Grid and Agreeing to Federal Oversight
-
'Unfortunate error': 'Wicked' dolls with porn site on packaging pulled from Target, Amazon
-
Sara Evans, husband Jay Barker have reconciled after his 2022 arrest: 'We're so happy now'
-
All 6 officers from Mississippi Goon Squad have been sentenced to prison for torturing 2 Black men
-
What to know about Duquesne after its NCAA men's tournament upset of Brigham Young