In federal court in Brooklyn, Marc Lazarre was sentenced by United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto to a prison term of 30 months for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of a scheme to steal the personal identifying information of homeless individuals and to use that stolen information to fraudulently apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr., FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia and New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber announced the sentence.
“The defendant exploited his relationship with a corrupt city employee to access vulnerable homeless victims’ personal identifying information in an attempt to defraud a state agency,” Nocella stated. “Exploiting positions of power for personal financial gain or conspiring with public employees who abuse their positions of public trust will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”
“With the assistance of a corrupt city employee, Marc Lazarre misused restricted information to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits using stolen identities of homeless individuals. This conspiracy not only violated and exploited a vulnerable population’s privacy but also deprived these victims of vital financial benefits. The FBI is committed to disrupting all corrupt schemes that target our city’s financial assistance programs and profit at the expense of defenseless victims,” added Raia…