NEW YORK–A scam that went viral on Tik Tok led to the draining of $17 million from a New York City youth jobs program.
Law enforcement officials told the New York Times the scam withdrawals were made using payment cards issued to thousands of young people in the program, and were supposed to give users access to only that week’s earnings — perhaps several hundred dollars at most, the Times reported.
“Instead, they opened a spigot of unlimited cash available in sums of $10,000, $20,000 and even $40,000 per ATM,” the report said. “There were as many as 30,000 cards issued to 14- to 24-year-olds who could not be paid via direct deposit.”
Investigation Underway
The Times reported the fraudulent use, from July 11-13, is being investigated by the city agency that oversees the program and by the Police Department’s Financial Crimes Task Force.
“Some of the young people in the program were selling their cards for $1,000 apiece, according to the law enforcement officials,” who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Times.
The report found that in videos on TikTok and Instagram around the time the scam was underway, some teenagers and adults boasted about it and encouraged people to sell their cards to them.
‘Printing Money Right Now’
“We’re making bread, we’re printing money right now,” one man said in a video posted on TikTok.
Referring to the jobs program, the Summer Youth Employment Program, he added: “If you work S.Y.E.P., hit me up,” the Times added.
The report noted, however, that other TikTok users warned people about falling for the “S.Y.E.P. scam.”
A spokesman for the agency that oversees the program, the Department of Youth and Community Development, suggested in a statement to the Times that the young people whose cards had been used for illicit activity were victims of criminals who had exploited their naïveté.
No Taxpayer Funds Lost
The spokesperson said no taxpayer funds had been lost to the fraud, but the Times said was not clear who would ultimately be responsible for absorbing the cost of the illicit withdrawals.
Also unclear is how the scam began, what made it possible, how many of the payment cards and ATMs were used, and who exactly made the withdrawals.
100,000 in Program
The jobs program is the largest of its kind in the United States, with 100,000 participants this year. Those enrolled in the program are placed in various industries for six-week stints, with participants ages 16 to 24 paid the $16.50 minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week. Younger workers are paid less, the report added.
