A former Gorham tax clerk is spending six days in Cumberland County Jail, and agreed Tuesday to a deal that also included paying back the money she was accused of stealing from the town.
Laura Anderson, 32, of Arundel, entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor theft charge in Cumberland County Superior Court, according to her attorney, Michael Vaillancourt.
“Laura didn’t admit guilt. She acknowledged it would be difficult to contest the charges,” Vaillancourt said Wednesday.
As part of the plea agreement, Vaillancourt said his client would repay the town about $4,600. Assistant District Attorney Julia Sheridan said Anderson paid full restitution Tuesday.
“We’re pleased that the plea agreement provides for full restitution,” Gorham Town Manager David Cole said.
The jail sentence was also part of the plea agreement. Anderson was taken into custody from the courtroom, according to Sheridan.
Vaillancourt, a Portland lawyer, said he reached the plea agreement with Sheridan in which earlier felony charges were dismissed against Anderson.
“She has no criminal history and she has young children,” Sheridan said. “Hopefully, she won’t be involved with the criminal justice system again.”
Vaillancourt said the plea agreement was approved by Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Nancy Mills.
Anderson had worked as an assistant tax collector, customer service clerk and motor vehicle agent in Gorham’s town office. She went to work for the town in July 2002.
Following an investigation last spring, the town turned the case over to the district attorney’s office after a hearing in Cole’s office on April 26. Anderson attended the hearing with Vaillancourt.
Cole fired Anderson in a letter on April 27. Cole wrote in the termination letter that Anderson had improperly processed 75 transactions and that she had “committed financial irregularities including theft of funds.” She was suspended from her position March 15.
Anderson was indicted by the Cumberland County Grand Jury in May on charges of class C theft, which is punishable by up to five years in prison, and aggravated forgery, which is a class B crime punishable by a sentence up to 10 years. According to court documents, the incidents occurred between June 1, 2005, and March 10, 2006. Anderson pleaded not guilty on both charges in an arraignment hearing on June 6.
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Former Gorham tax clerk Laura Anderson, 32, of Arundel, entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor theft charge in Cumberland County Superior Court