The founder of a New York charity meant to serve low-income families has been charged with embezzling some $2.5 million in donations which included more than $100,000 on food delivery services, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced Tuesday.

Keith Taylor, 56, founded the Modest Needs Foundation in 2002, using a crowd-funding model to provide short-term financial assistance to low-income workers for unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or broken appliances, and was profiled by publications such as Forbes, CNN and the New York Times for his work. According to the criminal complaint, from at least 2016 through May 2024, Taylor embezzled more than $2.5 million from the charity to fund his "lavish" lifestyle.

"As alleged, Keith Taylor falsely claimed that donations to his charity would help working families with unexpected expenses that put them at risk of homelessness. Instead, Taylor allegedly took those donations to pay for his meals at upscale restaurants, rent for a luxury apartment in a Manhattan skyscraper, and even cosmetic surgery," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. "Taylor allegedly defrauded the charity's donors and unconscionably took money from the pockets of those most in need, and he is now facing federal charges for his alleged crimes."

Taylor allegedly spent more than $320,000 at luxury New York City restaurants and steakhouses including Per Se, Jean-Georges, Masa, and Marea in Midtown Manhattan, where he dined "sometimes as often as twice a day," as well as more than $100,000 on food delivery services. He allegedly spent more than $300,000 in charity funds on rent for his luxury apartment on the 30th floor of a midtown Manhattan high-rise.

Taylor also allegedly spent charity funds on expensive electronics and his own personal cosmetic surgery. He allegedly transferred more than $270,000 in charity funds into his personal brokerage account, and used charity accounts to pay his personal expenses.

In order to hide the embezzlement, Taylor allegedly created a fake board of directors, using the names of his acquaintances, to "approve" his personal spending. The names of the fake board members included "a bartender from Jean-Georges, a friend, and his house-cleaner, none of whom ever attended a board meeting or even knew that they had been listed on the charity's website as board members."

From 2017 through 2022, Taylor also allegedly failed to file personal income tax returns or pay taxes on the income he received from the charity.

"Taylor acted like a do-gooder, founding a charity meant to help underserved communities. But it's alleged he later took this as an opportunity to victimize both his donors and his own charity by pocketing millions in donations to live a luxurious lifestyle," said Thomas Fattorusso, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. "Today's arrest means that Taylor can no longer allegedly exploit the kindness of others for his own gain, and he now faces the consequences of his alleged greed."

Taylor is charged with one count of wire fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison; one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in prison; and six counts of tax evasion, each punishable by up to five years in prison.

--with reporting by TMX