A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $570,000 in COVID-19 unemployment benefits. U.S. Attorney John Giordano announced the sentencing of Jose Tavares, 37, from Englewood, New Jersey. Tavares was convicted on October 28, 2024, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud following a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch.
Judge Kirsch handed down the sentence at the federal court in Trenton. Tavares' co-conspirators, Yanira Abreu and Christopher Valerio, had previously been sentenced by Judge Kirsch for their roles in the same fraudulent activity.
Court documents reveal that between July 2020 and February 2021, Tavares and his accomplices submitted false applications for unemployment insurance benefits to the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL). They used fictitious online profiles created with stolen personal information such as names, birth dates, and Social Security numbers without consent. Once approved by NYDOL, they received debit cards loaded with funds totaling over $570,000. These funds were then used for personal expenses including vacations and luxury purchases.
In addition to his prison term, Tavares was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $570,077 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Giordano credited several agencies for their investigative work leading to this outcome: special agents from Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent Ricky J. Patel; agents from the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General under Special Agent Jonathan Mellone; and postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service under Postal Inspector Christopher A. Nielsen.
The prosecution team included Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Stark and Benjamin D. Bleiberg from Newark's Economic Crimes Unit.
This case is part of efforts by the District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force—one of five established nationwide by the Department of Justice—to combat large-scale pandemic relief fraud involving criminal organizations.
Individuals with information about potential COVID-19-related fraud can report it via the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or through an online complaint form provided by the Department of Justice.
Defense counsel representing Tavares were Jeffrey Simms and Roberto Espinosa; Kevin Roe represented Valerio; John Russo represented Abreu.