On January 13, 2026, a Chisago County Sheriff's Investigator received a fraud prevention investigation referral from Chisago County Health and Human Services ("HHS") regarding VASSLY B. DESPREZ ([DOB redacted]) (Defendant). Defendant resides at an address on Furuby Road in Center City, Chisago County. HHS received a DHS-6696A Form, entitled "Supplement to Application for Health Coverage and Help Paying Costs," from Defendant on 12/12/2025. The application includes a Signature Page, which provides a declaration that the application is true and correct on every material point and provides possible penalties for not telling the truth.
Defendant's signature and date of 12/11/2025 is on the bottom of the Signature Page. Defendant reported $1,416.00 in SSDI income on this application. No other income was reported. While processing the application, the HHS case worker noted a voicemail received from Defendant on 11/24/2025, in which she said she was no longer employed and had applied for unemployment benefits. The health coverage application did not indicate any unemployment income. The case worker requested an internal DEED report.
The report confirmed Defendant was receiving $306.00 weekly in unemployment income, with first disbursement on 11/25/2025. The net amount received by Defendant was $261.00. This amount was deposited into her PayPal account on 12/02/2026, 12/09/2026, 12/15/2026, 12/23/2026, 12/29/2025, 1/5/2026, 1/13/2026, and 1/21/2026. Investigator responded to Defendant's home on 1/15/2026. He asked her about withholding unemployment from her application. She did not dispute receiving the unemployment income, but claimed that her case worker knew about it because she dropped all the paperwork off at the county.
