Judge sentences Silver Spring woman to 40 months in federal prison forpandemic fraud

Burtonsville co-conspirator also pleaded guilty, her sentencing to come

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August 3, 2026 5:36 p.m. | Updated: August 3, 2026 5:39 p.m.

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A Silver Spring woman was sentenced Monday to 40 months in federal prison for fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in pandemic-related unemployment benefits, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Elizabeth Maria Ceballos, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges stemming from a COVID-19 unemployment insurance fraud scheme. In addition to her prison sentence, Ceballos was ordered to pay $638,889 in restitution and serve two years of supervised release, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ceballos’ attorney, Summer Akhtar of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s emailed request for comment Monday afternoon. 

According to the release, Ceballos participated in a conspiracy to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance claims to the Maryland Department of Labor from at least May 2020 through September 2021.

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According to prosecutors, Ceballos received payments in exchange for creating false tax documents used to support fraudulent unemployment benefit applications. As part of her guilty plea, she also admitted to assisting co-defendant Vanessa Valdez, 42, of Burtonsville, with fraudulent activity involving Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds.

PPP and EIDL were created in March 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial support to individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic.

Valdez pleaded guilty in December 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. A sentencing date for Valdez has not yet been announced.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine