A 37-year-old Englewood man who was part of a crew that stole more than $575,000 in unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic has been sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison.
Jose Tavares and two associates obtained the names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of victims. They then used this information to fill out fraudulent applications with the New York Department of Labor, federal prosecutors said.
Tavares and the others received fraudulent debit cards after their applications were approved, and then purchased vacations, luxury items and cosmetic surgeries between July 2020 and February 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey said.
The three communicated using WhatsApp and sent each other pictures of the fraudulently obtained debit cards with the victims’ names printed on them, according to court papers. They also kept spreadsheets detailing their work.
Yanira Abreu, 43, of the Keasbey section of Woodbridge was sentenced to two years in May and Christopher Valerio, 34, of Perth Amboy received a two-and-a-half year prison term.
Tavares was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud following a five-day trial in October. The others pleaded guilty to the same offense.
Tavares will also have to pay $570,077 in restitution and be subject to three years of supervised release.