Middlesex Countess Sentenced to 2 Years for COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits Heist

A Middlesex County woman was sentenced to 24 months in prison for conspiring to steal over $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

Yanira Abreu, 42, of Keasbey, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch. Abreu’s sentence was imposed on May 9, 2024, in Trenton federal court.

Abreu’s conspirator, Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 30, 2024, to 30 months in prison. A third conspirator, Jose Tavares of New York, is still pending charges by indictment.

According to court documents, from July 2020 through February 2021, Abreu, Valerio, and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) using fictitious online profiles with stolen personally identifiable information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of other individuals without their consent.

Once the NYDOL processed and approved the fraudulent applications, Abreu and her conspirators obtained debit cards with illegally obtained funds totaling $444,728, which they used for personal gain. In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Abreu to two years of supervised release and ordered restitution and forfeiture, each in the amount of $444,728.

The investigation was led by special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is part of the District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force, which focuses on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors.

If you suspect someone of attempting to commit COVID-19-related fraud, report it to the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.