A former employee with the city’s Human Resources Administration accused of stealing more than $300,000 intended for needy New Yorkers — and spending some of the money to put a “supernatural curse” on her ex — has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Eliana Bauta, 35, pleaded guilty on Thursday in Manhattan federal court to one count of federal program theft. In March, she also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking part in a scheme in which she fraudulently obtained emergency benefits and gave them to family and friends.
“I issued benefits to people who were not entitled to them,” Bauta said, reading from a prepared statement, before Circuit Judge Valerie Caproni.
Prosecutors say that Bauta worked with two co-defendants on schemes in which she submitted falsified documents, such as a doctored police report, to obtain money that she in turn gave to acquaintances.
In one instance, according to prosecutors, she submitted a request for relief to be issued to an individual who was affected by a disaster — except that the disaster never actually occurred, and the money was used to reimburse someone for putting a hex on her ex-boyfriend.
Bauta faces up to 10 years in prison for the federal program theft count and up to 20 years for the wire fraud conspiracy count. She is scheduled to be sentenced in July.