MTA employee, Desmond Robertson, with ties to Long Island is sentenced for COVID fraud

A New York City subway conductor, who once lived in Floral Park, won’t be going to prison for stealing more than $20,600 from a pandemic relief program for businesses but must pay back the money in full.

Desmond Robertson, 42, was sentenced to time served and 3 years’ probation. He had faced a maximum of 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and bank fraud conspiracy in December 2024, according to court filings.

Robertson was also ordered to pay restitution of $251,378 and forfeiture of $217,710. The monetary damages include the amount of the Paycheck Protection Program loan that he illegally obtained in June 2021 and his involvement in a scheme to steal federal tax refunds, Social Security checks and other federal payments, the filings show.

Robertson was sentenced in late June in Brooklyn federal court by U.S. District Judge Frederic Block.

Robertson couldn't be reached. His attorney Nicholas D. Smith didn’t respond to requests for comment on Tuesday and Wednesday but in a sentencing memo said Robertson regretted his actions. "He is sincerely remorseful for his involvement in these schemes," the attorney wrote.

Robertson is among at least 36 Long Islanders who have been arrested for bilking more than $100.3 million from federal and state COVID-19 relief programs, such as the PPP, COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Employee Retention Credit, a Newsday analysis found.

Weeks after the coronavirus struck in early 2020, Congress and President Donald Trump created the PPP. The forgivable bank loans were for businesses struggling to pay employees as much of the economy was shut down to slow the virus’ spread.

About a year later, Robertson applied for a PPP loan using a Wells Fargo Bank statement from February 2020 — when he didn’t have an account with the bank until one year later. He also submitted a federal income tax form showing the barbershop that he claimed to own had a profit of $54,882 — but he didn’t earn any income from the business, according to a 20-page indictment from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The loan application was accompanied by a driver's license listing Robertson’s Floral Park address, the indictment states. Public records show that he subsequently moved to Central Islip.

After receiving the loan on June 8, 2021, Robertson used the money over one month "to make purchases from clothing stores, restaurants, and rideshare companies, among other things," the indictment states.

"Robertson took money that was earmarked for small businesses struggling and dissipated it on his own personal enrichment," prosecutors Andrew M. Roddin and Russell Noble wrote in a sentencing memo.

In February 2022, Robertson left the Brooklyn sneaker store where he had worked since 2019 for a job as a subway conductor for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That job paid $82,700 last year, according to public records.

Robertson also is among five people charged with illegally diverting more than 130 federal payments to their personal bank accounts. The checks, totaling more than $1 million, were intended for 100-plus people between November 2021 and December 2022. The payments included Social Security checks and tax refunds, according to court filings.

Robertson met one of the scheme’s two leaders while working at the sneaker store. He agreed to have some of the stolen federal checks deposited into his bank account and then transferred to the scheme leaders. Of the $247,524 that was placed in Robertson’s account, nearly $242,000 was transferred, the filings show.

Robertson’s attorney called his client "a tool" of the scheme’s "bosses. ... He passively allowed his bank account to be used."

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.