NEW YORK (NewsNation) — A former New York City employee pleaded guilty Monday to stealing homeless New Yorkers’ identities to apply for unemployment benefits and keeping the proceeds.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York announced that Olabanji Otufale and his co-conspirator, Marc Lazarre, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as jury selection in their trial was set to begin.
Both face a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of 32 years.
“The defendants shamefully stole vulnerable homeless victims’ personal identifying information for their own personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.
According to court documents, the scheme began in fall 2020. At that time, Otufale was a fraud investigator with the New York City Department of Homeless Services and was responsible for ensuring those applying for homeless services were eligible for benefits.
The defendants conspired to steal personal identifying information from homeless people provided when applying for services, according to court documents. Otufale and Lazarre used the information to apply for unemployment benefits in their names without their knowledge, the attorney’s office said.