Former Boston Official Pleads Guilty To Pandemic Loan Fraud

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

Reuben Taylor, 40, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after being charged in October 2026. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2027.

According to federal prosecutors, Taylor received a $20,804 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.

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 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.

Taylor previously served as the director of the city’s Municipal Protective Services and had worked for the division since 2008. Municipal Protective Services is an unarmed, non-sworn security division within Boston’s Property Management Department.

The wire fraud 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.

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