Former Boston City Official Pleads Guilty to Pandemic Fraud over $20,804 PPP Loan
Reuben Taylor, 40, of Boston, Massachusetts, the former Director of the City of Boston's Municipal Protective Services, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to obtaining federal pandemic funds through fraud. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division, made the announcement.
Taylor had worked since 2008 for the Municipal Protective Services, an unarmed, non-sworn security division within the City of Boston's Property Management Department. In April 2021 he submitted an application for a $20,804 Paycheck Protection Program loan in which he falsely claimed that he had worked as an auto mechanic in 2019. He supported the application with a fabricated Form 1040 and Schedule C, claiming he received no wages in 2019 and instead received $99,863 as an independent contractor working as a mechanic.
In the 2019 Form 1040 that Taylor actually submitted to the IRS, he reported earning $97,561 in wages as a municipal police officer and attached a Form W-2 from the City of Boston. In August 2021 he applied for forgiveness of the loan, claiming he had spent the proceeds on payroll for his auto mechanic business, and the Small Business Administration forgave the loan in September 2021.
Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000; sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and governing statutes. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2027. Taylor was charged in October 2026.
Valuable assistance was provided by IRS Criminal Investigation in Boston and the Boston Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the creation of its Benefit & Voter Fraud Team in March 2026, and the Department of Justice created its National Fraud Enforcement Division in April 2026.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：联邦调查局总部大楼。美国联邦调查局官方发布，公共领域。 / Photo: FBI headquarters building. Official U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation photo, public domain.
