BOSTON — The former director of Boston's Municipal Protective Services has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to fraudulently obtaining a pandemic relief loan, the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts said Wednesday.

Reuben Taylor, 40, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, prosecutors said. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2027. Taylor was charged in October. Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Taylor had worked since 2008 for the Municipal Protective Services, an unarmed, non-sworn security division within the city's Property Management Department, according to prosecutors.

In April 2021, prosecutors said, Taylor applied for a $20,804 Paycheck Protection Program loan, falsely claiming he had worked as an auto mechanic in 2019. He backed the application with a fabricated tax return stating that he earned no wages that year and instead made $99,863 as an independent contractor working as a mechanic, prosecutors said.

The tax return Taylor actually filed with the IRS for 2019 reported $97,561 in wages from the City of Boston, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

In August 2021, Taylor applied to have the loan forgiven, claiming he had spent the money on payroll for his auto mechanic business, prosecutors said. The Small Business Administration forgave the loan in September 2021.

The FBI's Boston division investigated the case.

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