Andre Taylor Jr., Pandemic Fraud and Credit Card Scheme, Michigan 2021

A Farmington Hills resident has been sentenced to 75 months in federal prison for his role in a pandemic fraud and credit card scheme.

Andre Taylor Jr., 28, was sentenced yesterday in Detroit on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.

Joining in the announcement were Acting Special Agent in Charge Felicia George, US Postal Inspection Service, Andre Martin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Taylor Jr. pleaded guilty in December 2021 to one count of wire fraud arising from a broad-based scheme to defraud the Unemployment Insurance Agencies of several states, along with numerous banks and retailers. He also pleaded guilty at that time to one count of aggravated identity theft, reflecting the fact that his scheme involved the misuse of the personal identifying information of individual victims.

According to court documents, Taylor Jr. had begun obtaining credit cards intended for other individuals and using them without authorization in October 2019. He used different methods to obtain stolen credit cards, including paying bribes to letter carriers in exchange for credit cards and other access devices stolen from mail routes.

Beginning in March 2020, Taylor Jr.’s scheme expanded to include obtaining pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled. He obtained personal identifying information and filed fraudulent unemployment insurance claims with several state workforce agencies, including Michigan and Pennsylvania.

As a result of the scheme, Taylor Jr. was ordered to pay $774,607 in restitution to his victims.

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