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Kahleke Taylor, age 21, of Albany, pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges Tuesday, Aug. 9, in federal court in Albany.
Prosecutors said Taylor stole the personal information of other people on social media and then used that information to file false unemployment insurance applications with the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL).
On one application, filed in August 2020, Taylor claimed that a person had lost work at a hotel in Latham due to “Lack of Work - COVID,” which was false, according to the US Attorney’s Office in the Northern District.
In all, prosecutors said Taylor’s scheme netted him $207,000 in benefits payments between September 2020 and June 2021.
The mail fraud and wire fraud convictions each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory term of two years in prison.
As part of his guilty plea, Taylor also agreed to pay full restitution to NYSDOL.
Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8.
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