Mayovanet Fermin, 26, and Frnsheska Fermin, 25, siblings from Yonkers, New York, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on 68 counts of fraud-related charges. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that the indictment was unsealed after their arraignment on October 3, 2025.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, the indictment claims that between January 2020 and July 2021, the Fermins obtained and shared lists containing victims’ personal identifying information to file fraudulent federal income tax returns, apply for economic impact payments, and seek pandemic unemployment assistance benefits. The alleged scheme resulted in more than $400,000 in fraudulent payments.
The investigation was conducted by several agencies: Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd is prosecuting the case.
“On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts,” according to a statement provided by officials. Additional details about these efforts can be found at https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone who has information about attempted COVID-19 related fraud is encouraged to report it via the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or through its web complaint form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
If convicted of the most serious offense charged in this case, defendants face up to 30 years in prison as well as supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. Sentencing will be determined by a judge who will consider federal statutes and sentencing guidelines.
Authorities remind that indictments are only allegations; all individuals charged are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The announcement notes that while these events occurred previously, public release was delayed due to a government shutdown but has now been made available following a return to normal operations.
