People gave him money for the poor. He spent a fortune on luxuries for himself
An executive who was given millions of dollars to spend on poor families pleaded guilty on Aug. 18 to taking large chunks of the money for himself to spend on a ritzy apartment and meals at swanky New York restaurants, federal officials announced.
Keith Taylor, former CEO of the Modest Needs Foundation, defrauded the charity he founded, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Taylor embezzled over $2.5 million in donations that were supposed to go to helping low-income workers cover unexpected medical bills and other expenses such as broken appliances, prosecutors said.
Instead, around $320,000 in donations helped cover Taylor's regular meals at fine-dining restaurants including Thomas Keller's Per Se. Around $300,000 helped cover the executive's luxury apartment on the 30th floor of a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper. Much of the money also helped Taylor cover his own medical expenses and electronic devices, federal officials said.
"Keith Taylor preyed on the trust of New Yorkers who gave generously to help struggling families," said Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District. "Those who use charitable dollars to line their own pockets undermine the work of our many great charities and the special tax status charities enjoy. They must be brought to justice."
Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and eight counts of tax evasion, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The former executive also pleaded guilty to evading more than $1 million in federal income taxes. The 58-year-old faces potentially decades in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for October.
An attorney for Taylor declined to comment.
'I had always wanted to be a philanthropist'
Taylor launched the Modest Needs charity in 2002, according to the Department of Justice.
The charity was considered innovative at the time for relying on online crowdfunding and Taylor's pledge to donate 10% of his salary to the cause made the website go viral, according to an interview with The Today Show in 2002.
"I just had always wanted to be a philanthropist, my whole life," Taylor told Al Roker, adding that he wasn't sure where he got his charitable spirit. "I've always been that way, I've honestly always been that way."
Before becoming a regular at Manhattan's finest restaurants, Taylor was a professor in Tennessee, according to The Today Show.
Modest Needs' success continued. In 2009 he told CNN that the charity's impact made him feel "like Christmas every day."
During the pandemic, The New York Times covered the former humanities professor's efforts in an article about how to help people at the height of lockdown.
Over 90% of the $3.2 million in donations received in 2020 went towards helping people, according to a company report. Around $87,000 went towards management or administrative fees, the report says.
The site appears like an early version of GoFundMe, the crowdfunding site that has become a popular last resort among people in desperate circumstances. Campaigns describe a person's struggle, such as affording medical care. A funding goal was typically listed for each charitable cause.
People eligible to fundraise through the charity "are living one or two lost paychecks away from the kind of financial catastrophe that eventually leads to homelessness," according to the website.
When did the embezzlement begin?
Taylor began using money intended for the people listed on his website in about 2015, according to the Justice Department.
His own immodest needs included regular meals at some of Midtown Manhattan's finest restaurants, including Per Se, Jean-Georges, Masa and Marea, according to prosecutors. Taylor sometimes went to dine at such places twice a day.
Per Se and Masa are both three-Michelin-Star restaurants, according to the international dining guide. The two are known for having tasting menus that cost around $1,000.
In addition to $300,000 in donations spent on rent at a Midtown skyscraper, Taylor spent around $100,000 on medical expenses and electronic devices and put around $270,000 into an investment account, prosecutors said.
Taylor continued to embezzle funds from the charity even after his arrest in June 2024, according to the Justice Department.
He attempted to cover his tracks by creating a fake board of directors to approve expenses. Among the fictitious board was Taylor's housekeeper and a bartender. Board members were not aware that they were listed as such on the company website or on tax forms.
Taylor also pleaded guilty to tax evasion for not paying taxes on the embezzled funds, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The guilty plea in Taylor's case comes at a point where the city and nation have been wrestling with affordability. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani rose to win the Democratic primary for the city's top office on a wave of support for his promise to make the city affordable for working people again.
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