Failed Niagara County Legislative Candidate Dante Richardson Fakes Work History to Gain Employment, According to Local Business

Niagara Action recently began an investigative series into failed Niagara County legislative candidate Dante Richardson who, by all accounts, is not who he holds himself to be publicly.

Let’s recap what has been reported thus far:

Dante Richardson is a violent, convicted felon.

In 2014, he was convicted in Erie County Court of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for a violent home invasion that occurred in Buffalo in 2012. He is considered a violent felon under New York's penal code. Prosecutors alleged the home invasion was both calculated and violent. Once inside the home wearing masks and armed with a loaded .32 caliber pistol, Richardson and his accomplice repeatedly threatened the victim’s life while demanding money. He fled the residence when Buffalo Police arrived, escaping $10 in cash and a bag of condoms. The Judge sentenced him to 10 years in state prison. Richardson ultimately served eight years of that sentence before being released on parole in 2022, where he remained under supervision until 2023.

When applying for a sales director job at Buffalo Biodiesel, Dante Richardson purported to have various degrees and work experience relevant and required for the position. Once it was discovered this was a lie, he was terminated.

Richardson was fired from his employment at Buffalo Biodiesel, a Buffalo-based business that operates throughout the Northeast collecting used cooking oil from restaurants, on January 10th. According to multiple sources in the building who witnessed the termination, it was done with cause after an "outburst" with a "threat being made while being escorted out of the building by staff," according to a witness. When Richardson was hired at Buffalo Biodiesel in December of 2025, he represented to the company – in writing – that he had various degrees. According to sources in the company, this included a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester that was mentioned in his LinkedIn and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University.

As a result, he was purportedly hired at a salary north of $125,000. Niagara Action confirmed through sources who viewed documents, one of which was publicly available on Richardson’s own LinkedIn profile, and the other written on his application, showing that he indeed purported to have these two degrees. But there’s one problem––records show he does not have any degrees. According to a source at Buffalo Biodiesel who conducted a search through the National Student Clearinghouse, Richardson does not have a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester, nor does he have any degree whatsoever from Stanford. In fact, just to make sure they weren’t making a mistake, the company asked Richardson to sign a release for the Registrar’s office at Stanford to release transcripts––which they say he refused to sign.

Dante Richardson is currently under investigation by the Buffalo Police Department for engaging in a scheme to defraud, grand larceny, and a threat made after being fired by Buffalo Biodiesel, according to sources at the company.

Between his hiring date and termination, Richardson was purportedly paid north of $12,000 from Buffalo Biodiesel. The company seeks to recoup the money, arguing it was taken under false pretenses via deception to get wages without intending to ever do the job, nor ever actually performing services. These facts led Buffalo Biodiesel to file a criminal complaint against Richardson with the Buffalo Police Department for fraud, which Buffalo Biodiesel says is actively being investigated. The Buffalo Police Department is also investigating the threat made after Richardson was terminated while being escorted out of the building. According to a source familiar with the situation, the staff member who walked him out was told by Richardson, referring to his violent criminal history, to "leave me alone and look me up [to see what I've done]."

Niagara Action has now analyzed Richardson’s work history as outlined on his publicly available LinkedIn work history, of which we have included a PDF here for your review. This work history is not embellished but contains what we believe many falsehoods and impossibilities. This includes the following (for reference, Richardson’s DOB is 6/28/1993):

Starting in February 2007 (age 13), Richardson worked as an “Apprentice” at OLV Human Services. His jobs included the cleaning crew, catering services as a cook and server, prep cook and cashier, and gift shop salesperson.

Starting in June 2008 (age 14), Richardson was hired as an “Office Manager” at OLV Human Services working FULL TIME for 15 months conducting payroll for all the youth employees.

Starting in June 2009 (age 15), Richardson participated in an internship at M&T Bank under the direct supervision of Vice President Paul Collins.

Starting in June 2010 (age 16), Richardson participated in an internship at Morgan Stanley under the direct supervision of former Senior Vice President James Sexton III.  In a phone call to OLV Human Services on January 16th, they confirmed 13-year-olds are not hired by their organization. In a phone call to M&T Bank on January 16th, they confirmed internships are not offered to 15-year-olds.  In a call with Morgan Stanley’s Williamsville Office on January 16th, they confirmed that Morgan Stanley does not accept 16-year-old interns.

Moving forward several years to when Richardson was incarcerated between 2012 and 2020, he listed consistent employment during that time. This includes as an:

Agency Partner (2012 – 2016)

MusicTech Strategist (2017-2021)

However, it is also important to pay attention to where a few of these jobs occurred after Richardson was released from state prison as he was on parole and required to remain in the area.

MusicTech Strategist (2017-2021) was listed as being in New York City, New York.

Blockchain Adviser (2021-2022) was listed as being in Palo Alto, California.

Sr. Business Management Manager (2021-2022) was listed as being in New York City, New York.

Founder-in-Residence of Bubble (2022-2023) was listed as being in New York City, New York.

Niagara Action confirmed from sources at Buffalo Biodiesel that Richardson doubled down on this work history during his interview with the company and that his resume matched information publicly viewable on his LinkedIn profile.

In essence, these sources said that his employment history is “one giant con.”

“He was convincing,” said one source. “We believe in second chances and this is the sort of person who, at least presented himself, as deserving one. He fooled us. Boy did he fool us.”

These sources independently confirmed the falsity of his work history, especially as it came to AI.

“He was hired in large part due to his assertions in expertise with AI,” said the source. “As it turned out, he knew nothing about AI except to hand in reports entirely generated by AI in an attempt to pass it as his own.”

Richardson ran a campaign for legislator in Niagara County and held himself out to Niagara Falls voters purporting these claims about him to be true.

Are they? Are they not? You can decide based on the information we have provided.

What Richardson failed to tell Niagara Falls residents during his campaign for Niagara County legislator will be the topic of our next article.

Buffalo Biodiesel would not comment on the record for this story.

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Failed Niagara County Legislative Candidate Dante Richardson Fakes Work History to Gain Employment, According to Local Business