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Jermika Depas, 32, of Spring Valley, was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation and $4,662.50 in restitution after being convicted by a Rockland County jury of welfare fraud and other charges, said the Rockland County District Attorney's Office.
Depas, while living rent-free at 62 Branchwood Lane., in Nanuet, filed three applications between March of 2015 and June of 2016 for welfare benefits with the Rockland County Department of Social Services, the DA's Office said.
The applications contained forged letters from Depas’ landlord which falsely confirmed that she was paying rent.
A fraud investigator from the Rockland County Department of Social Services testified that as a result of this fraud, Depas received $4,700 in welfare benefits that she was not entitled to.
She was convicted on seven counts, including welfare fraud, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and offering a false instrument for filing.
Depas was ordered to pay the restitution to the Rockland County Department of Social Services over the course of her probation.
She was acquitted last year in a trial that accused her of assisting former Spring Valley Trustee Vilair Fonvil in stealing $11,000 from a Ramapo summer camp.
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