Perth Amboy Man Admits Stealing COVID Unemployment Benefits

PERTH AMBOY, NJ — A Middlesex County man admitted that he conspired to illegally obtain over $400,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced Nov. 17.

Christopher Valerio, 33, of Perth Amboy pleaded guilty on Nov. 16 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Valerio’s conspirator, Yanira Abreu, 42, of Keasby pleaded guilty on Sept. 12 of this year on charges stemming from the same scheme. A case remains pending against a third conspirator, Jose Tavares, 35, of New York City.

Here is the criminal complaint against Valerio: https://content.govdelivery.co...

From July 2020 through February 2021, Valerio, Abreu and others submitted false and fraudulent applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) through fictitious online profiles that they created using 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, Valerio and the two men were given debit cards with illegally obtained funds totaling $444,738, which they used for personal gain, said federal prosecutors.