A former Democratic candidate for New York state Assembly is facing allegations of stealing $160,000 in taxpayer funds through deceptive means from the state’s new campaign matching-funds initiative, according to federal prosecutors who made the announcement on Friday.

The individual in question is Dao Yin, who ran for the Assembly’s 40th District in Queens in the previous year but did not succeed. Yin has been charged with wire fraud and was brought before a federal court in Brooklyn for an arraignment on Friday.

The accusations against Yin suggest that he fabricated signatures to inflate the count of campaign donations he purportedly received. This manipulation was aimed at increasing the public matching funds he was eligible to collect, as outlined by federal authorities.

“Through lies and deceit, the defendant allegedly stole over $160,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund his campaign for elected office,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, in a statement.

The Queens resident and Chinese national submitted over 200 contribution cards to the state Public Campaign Finance Board — “many” of which were fraudulent, the complaint against him alleges.

The forged signatures raised red flags at the CFB, which requested some letters from the donors to ensure the contributions were legit.

But Yin allegedly submitted fake letters in response, evidently duping the finance board, according to the complaint.

When Yin got obliterated in the primary — receiving only around 6% of the vote — it sparked even more alarms.

That 6% translated to roughly only 185 votes, meaning Yin had more contributors than voters.

“As alleged, the defendant, a former candidate for public office, submitted forged campaign contribution cards from members of the very community he hoped to represent, to fraudulently obtain thousands of dollars in public matching funds that he was not entitled to receive,” Brooklyn US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. wrote in a statement.

“Today’s arrest demonstrates that this Office will protect the integrity of elections and pursue candidates for elected office who violate campaign finance laws,” he said.

Yin, who did not return a request for comment Friday, could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.

The state’s generous campaign matching-funds program has no limit and allows candidates in tight races to pocket $12 in taxpayer cash for every $1 of small donations made by district residents.

The state Board of Elections didn’t immediately comment.