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The founder of a charity meant to help low-income workers cover surprise bills has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison. Prosecutors say he spent its donations on rent and a six-figure restaurant tab, with several of his favorite spots just steps from his front door.
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Keith Taylor, 59, started Modest Needs Foundation around 2002. More than $300,000 of the charity’s money went toward rent on his 30th-floor apartment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The New York Times placed that apartment at the Regent, the rental tower at 45 West 60th Street.Prosecutors say Taylor spent more than $320,000 of charity funds at New York City restaurants and steakhouses. They named Per Se, Jean-Georges, Masa, and Marea among the places he frequented, sometimes twice a day. Per Se and Masa are in Deutsche Bank Center at 10 Columbus Circle, just across West 60th Street from the Regent. Jean-Georges is at 1 Central Park West, and Marea is on Central Park South. The Times reported that the 2024 federal complaint put his Jean-Georges spending at more than $101,000 over five years starting in 2017. It also listed more than $68,000 at Per Se and $25,930 at Masa.
The restaurant connection went beyond his tab. Prosecutors say Taylor made up a board of directors using acquaintances who didn’t know they were on it and never went to a meeting. They included a friend, a house cleaner, and a bartender, who the Times reported worked at Jean-Georges. That bartender told investigators Taylor was a regular who sometimes stopped by the bar twice in one day, according to the Times.
U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon sentenced Taylor on October 28. On top of the prison time, he got three years of supervised release and was ordered to forfeit $3,118,237 and pay $4,144,645 in restitution. He pleaded guilty on August 18, 2025, to one count of wire fraud and eight counts of tax evasion.
Modest Needs used a crowdfunding model to help low-income workers pay for unexpected costs like medical bills or broken appliances. Prosecutors say Taylor embezzled more than $2.5 million from the charity and its donors since at least 2015. Besides the dining and rent, the money paid for electronics, more than $100,000 in food delivery, and his own medical expenses. More than $270,000 also went straight into his personal brokerage account. The complaint said $63,000 in medical spending between 2020 and 2022 included cosmetic surgery, according to the Times.
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His June 2024 arrest didn’t stop him. Prosecutors say he kept using the charity’s money for meals, medical bills, and rent while out on pretrial release, even though he’d supposedly resigned and wasn’t allowed to touch its bank accounts. He also didn’t file personal income tax returns from at least 2017 through 2024, evading more than $1 million in federal income taxes.“Keith Taylor embezzled millions from a charity for low-income families to pay for his own lavish lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said in a statement.
There were warning signs years earlier. Charity Navigator warned donors in 2012 about a $26,000 loan from the charity to Taylor, the Times reported. Taylor sued the ratings site the next year, then dropped the suit soon after.
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