Current:Home > MarketsNYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme -Prime Capital Blueprint
NYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:00:49
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! (3)
Related
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- ‘Get out of my house!’ Video shows 98-year-old mother of Kansas newspaper publisher upset amid raid
- Hilary was a rare storm. Here's why
- PGA Tour player Erik Compton arrested; charged with strong-arm robbery, domestic battery
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- 'Celebrity Jeopardy!': Ken Jennings replaces Mayim Bialik as host amid ongoing strikes
- Florida agencies are accused in a lawsuit of sending confusing Medicaid termination notices
- Mississippi officer out of job after 10-year-old is taken into custody for urinating in public
- Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
- Harvard's Drew Gilpin Faust says history should make us uncomfortable
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Jonathan Taylor granted permission to seek trade by Indianapolis Colts, according to reports
- Hilary was a rare storm. Here's why
- Olivia Newton-John's daughter Chloe gets candid about her grief journey: 'I have been neglecting myself'
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Big Brother comes to MLB? Phillies launch facial recognition at Citizens Bank Ballpark
- I'm a new dad. Here's why I'm taking more parental leave than my wife.
- Facebook users in US have until Friday to claim their piece of Meta's $725 million settlement
Recommendation
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
Trump's bond set at $200,000 in Fulton County election case
Jailed Sam Bankman-Fried can’t prepare for trial without vegan diet and adequate meds, lawyers say
The Fate of And Just Like That Revealed
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
Construction workers among those more likely to die from overdoses during pandemic, CDC says
Death Valley, known for heat and drought, got about a year's worth of rain in a day from Hilary
Home sales slumped in July as rising mortgage rates and prices discouraged many would-be homebuyers