Police are looking for Jessica Dehais, 37, whose last known address was in Endicott, N.Y., and who has been charged with third-degree theft by deception for food stamp and financial assistance she received in 2005 and 2006.
Ms. Dehais was living on Stonewyck Drive at the time of the alleged crime, and provided documentation to the Somerset County Social Services Department proving residency, and a letter promising employment from Hunterdon Medical Center, according Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest. She received benefits in December 2005 and early 2006 based on the earnings she documented.
Later, Social Services Department employees discovered she was not eligible for the food stamps and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) her actual earnings exceeded income eligibility requirements, and asked her to return $764 for food stamps and $322 in financial assistance paid to her. The department filed a claim June 30, 2008, seeking repayment, and a letter was sent to Ms. Dehais at her Hillsborough mailing address notifying her of the claim.
Ms. Dehais reported that someone had used her name to file for the assistance without her knowledge to the prosecutor’s office in October, but investigators confirmed she had in fact filed for the claim, and that as of Jan. 15, has not paid any of the money back to the county, the prosecutor’s office said.
”Subsequently, defendant Dehais has been charged with theft by deception, third degree and a warrant has been issued for her arrest,” Mr. Forrest said.
Mr. Forrest said Ms. Dehais has not been taken into custody and asks anyone with information on her whereabouts to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Special Investigations Unit at 908-231-7100. Information can also be provided anonymously by calling the Somerset County Crime Stoppers TIPS Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477), or online at www.888577tips.org and click on “Give Tips” or www.scpo.net and click on “Crime Stoppers.” All calls are confidential.

