Local News
Prosecutors say Reuben Taylor falsely claimed he earned nearly $100,000 as an independent mechanic to secure a $20,844 pandemic relief loan.
A Boston city official has agreed to plead guilty to fraudulently obtaining a federal pandemic relief loan, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Reuben Taylor, 40, of Boston, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with a $20,844 Paycheck Protection Program loan he allegedly obtained using fabricated tax documents, according to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley’s office.
Since 2008, Taylor has worked for Boston’s Municipal Protective Services — an unarmed, non-sworn security unit within the city’s Property Management Department.
Prosecutors say Taylor applied for the loan in April 2021, claiming he had worked as an independent auto…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.