The Wayne County Office of the Sheriff, in conjunction with the Wayne County Department of Social Services, reported the arrest on Wednesday (8/30) at 1:15 p.m. of Joseph R. Bertou, age 40, of 4359 Old Ridge Road in the Town of Williamson, for Misuse of Food Stamps and Petit Larceny.

An investigation was initiated by the Department of Social Services after a report that Bertou was possibly using somone else’s EBT (food stamp) card to purchase food. It was first believed that the EBT card belonged to an elderly female who Bertou claimed was his mother that he previously lived with in the Village of Newark. The investigation then moved forward when Social Service workers discovered that the elderly female was in fact not his mother and not related to Bertou in any way.

Deputies then discovered that Bertou had recently used the EBT card to purchase food for himself, on multiple occasions in the Newark area. It was also determined that these transactions were all taking place while the elderly female was currently placed in an Adult Care Facility in Seneca County. The Department of Social Services then quickly changed the EBT card number before more transactions could be made.
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Bertou was subsequently arrested by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office for the Misuse of Food Stamps and Petit Larceny. He is scheduled to appear in the Town of Lyons Court.