By: Tracie Carter
A Middlesex County woman will serve time in federal prison after admitting to fraudulently obtaining nearly $200,000 in pandemic relief funds, federal authorities announced.
According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Damaris Valerio, also known as Damaris Tineo Abreu, 42, of Perth Amboy, was sentenced on April 14, 2026, in Trenton federal court to 20 months in prison.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch following her guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
Authorities said that between April 2020 and December 2021, Valerio submitted fraudulent applications to obtain funds through federal COVID-19 relief programs, including the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and pandemic unemployment insurance.
Investigators determined that Valerio inflated her business’s revenue, payroll expenses, and number of employees in order to qualify for funding she was not entitled to receive.
As a result, she fraudulently obtained approximately $194,212 in relief funds intended to support struggling businesses and unemployed workers during the pandemic.
Officials said she later diverted the money for personal use.
In addition to her prison sentence, Valerio was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and must pay $194,212 in restitution.
Federal authorities continue to warn that fraud involving pandemic relief programs will be aggressively investigated and prosecuted.