Woodbridge woman goes to prison for COVID fraud scheme

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — A federal judge sentenced a woman from the Keasbey section to 24 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy to swindle the government out of more than $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said.

U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch sentenced 42-year-old Yanira Abreu on May 9 after she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a lesser charge than she initially faced.

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, Sellinger said in a prepared statement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Fatime Meka Cano alleged that from July 2020 through February 2021, Abreu conspired with Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, and a third person, Jose Tavares of New York, to submit fraudulent applications for COVID-19 unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor.

The trio were accused of creating fictitious online profiles using other people's names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. As a result, the New York State Department of Labor gave the trio COVID-19 unemployment benefit cards totaling $444,728.

Valerio, from Perth Amboy, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 30th, to 30 months in federal prison. Charges are still pending against Jose Tavares in New York.**BULLSEYE

The trio got arrested after a joint investigation involving the federal departments of Homeland Security, the Labor Department, and the Postal Inspection Service in Newark, targeting people who stole pandemic relief funds.

Anyone with information about fraud involving COVID-19 relief money can call the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at (866) 720-5721 or complete a form at its website.