A Lincoln County grand jury has indicted former Wiscasset town clerk Sandra Johnson, 45, of Wiscasset of class B theft by unauthorized taking.
The grand jury issued the indictment in connection with the alleged theft of Wiscasset town funds that occurred between Feb. 25, 2005 and Oct. 2, 2008.
Town funds allegedly stolen between Feb. 24, 2005 and June 30, 2008, total at least $56,450 according to an independent audit report produced by RHR Smith of Buxton.
The auditors’ report does not include possible missing funds from July 1 through Oct. 2, 2008 when local police arrested Johnson and charged her with theft by deception. Following her arrest, the town dismissed Johnson from her position as town clerk.
According to Smith, auditors had to pour over financial statements starting from 2002 up through last October when town officials discovered the alleged theft by happenstance.
“Your system was willfully manipulated,” Smith said.
Auditors focused primarily on motor vehicle excise taxes initially but later included all other records in their investigation. The state Dept. of Motor Vehicles has announced it will not press charges because of its finding on its end of the transactions.
In January, Smith told The Lincoln County News that auditors obtained all of the information necessary for the District Attorney’s case. “You have a procedure in there which enables you to catch something now, but there is a fundamental flaw in the software,” Smith said.
Wiscasset Town Manager Arthur Faucher has said the town office uses the accounting program TRIO, which Wiscasset adopted in 2005.
Faucher said the town has $250,000 insurance coverage for any lost revenues if that is the case and Johnson is bonded should the allegations be confirmed in court.
However, the special audit RHR Smith has been doing is not covered but could be sought as restitution if Johnson is found guilty in court.
Johnson’s arraignment in Lincoln County Superior Court is expected some time later in March, followed by a period of 21-30 days to allow time for the defense to file any motions before a jury trial on the felony charge, according to D.A. Geoff Rushlau. He said the trial date will not be set until her arraignment.
According to Rushlau, the maximum sentence for the alleged offense would be 10 years in state prison.