Former CEI employee pleads guilty to embezzlement
A former Coastal Enterprises, Inc. employee has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $300,000 from the company over a four-year span.
Stacey Backman, 41, of Brunswick, pleaded guilty to federal program and tax fraud charges Monday, June 9 in US District Court in Portland.
According to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office, Backman was a fund accountant at Wiscasset's CEI division from 2010 to January 2014, over which period of time Backman embezzled more than $300,000 from the company and failed to report the income on her tax returns.
After CEI discovered the embezzlement in January, Backman was fired from her post.
Backman could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the federal program charge and up to three years and a $100,000 fine on tax fraud charges.
The case was investigated by the Wiscasset Police Department, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Inspector General, the IRS' criminal investigation division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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