NEW CITY – A Spring Valley woman was sentenced in Rockland County Court on Wednesday to five years of probation and $4,662 in restitution after being convicted by a jury of one count of welfare fraud, three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing, all as felonies.
Jermika Depas, 32, was living rent-free in Nanuet, but filed three applications for welfare benefits with the Rockland County Department of Social Services. The applications contained letters ostensibly from her landlord, which falsely confirmed she was paying rent.
The jury concluded the signature of the landlord was a forgery and that Depas was not paying rent while living at that address. A DSS fraud investigator testified that as a result of the fraud, she received $4,700 in welfare benefits to which she was not entitled.
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