A Montgomery County woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to her role in a large unemployment insurance fraud scheme tied to pandemic relief programs.
Vanessa Valdez, 42, of Burtonsville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Federal prosecutors say the scheme took place between at least May 2020 and September 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that period, Valdez and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to public documents, the group used personal identifying information belonging to other individuals to submit false unemployment claims to the Maryland Department of Labor. The benefits were intended to assist people who were unemployed or underemployed due to the national emergency, but instead were used for personal enrichment.
As part of her guilty plea, Valdez also admitted to fraudulently obtaining funds through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs. Both programs were established under the CARES Act to help businesses meet financial obligations during the pandemic. While EIDL advances of up to $10,000 did not require repayment, prosecutors say the funds were unlawfully obtained.
Valdez faces a maximum possible sentence of 22 years in federal prison. That includes a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft, which must be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.
