Perth Amboy Beauty Salon Owner Accused Of PPP Fraud

PERTH AMBOY, NJ — For the second time this week, a Middlesex County resident has been accused of scamming the Paycheck Protection Program loans started during the COVID pandemic.

A woman who owns a beauty salon in Perth Amboy was arrested on charges that she fraudulently obtained Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, unemployment insurance benefits and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), all totaling $694,212.

The woman is Damaris Valerio, 41, and she is the owner of La Vogue House of Beauty in Perth Amboy, according to the federal criminal complaint filed against her. She is also known as Damaris Tineo Abreu; she lives in Perth Amboy.

Valerio appeared in Newark federal court Wednesday. Prosecutors say Valerio inflated her salon's revenue, payroll expenses and number of employees. After receiving the loan money, she diverted virtually all of the proceeds for her own personal gain.

Earlier this week, Daniel Dadoun, 47, of South Plainfield was charged with running a Paycheck Protection Program loan scam that netted him $3.2 million in stolen money from the U.S. government.

While Valerio has been released on a bail bond, Dadoun is being held in jail because he is deemed a flight risk due to holding American, French and Israeli passports.

Federal prosecutors say that from April 2020 through December 2021, Valerio fraudulently obtained $694,212 in COVID-19 emergency relief funds.

She is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and if found guilty is facing up to 20 years in prison.

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans and cash advances were meant for distressed small businesses during the pandemic.

Do you suspect COVID loan fraud? Contact the U.S. 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.

On this topic: South Plainfield Man Made $3.2M Off PPP COVID Loan Scheme, Feds Say (Nov. 15)