A woman was sentenced last week to two years in prison for stealing over $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey announced Monday.
Yanira Abreu, 42, of Woodbridge, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the office said.
Abrue was one of three people implicated in the scheme, authorities said.
One of her conspirators, Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 30 to two and a half years in prison, federal prosecutors said. Another man, Jose Tavares of New York, was also charged and his case remains pending.
From July 2020 through February 2021, Abreu, Valerio, and others submitted fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor through fake online profiles, officials said. They created them using stolen names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of others who did not know their information was being used without their consent.
Once the labor department processed and approved the applications, Abreu and her conspirators obtained debit cards with illegally-gotten funds totaling $444,728, which they used as they saw fit, the office said.
In addition to her prison term, Abreu was ordered to give up and repay all the funds she stole, authorities said.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
