ANSON, Maine — Anson’s tax collector was indicted by the Somerset County grand jury on Thursday in connection with $327,956 in missing excise tax funds, according to documents connected to the case.
Claudia Viles was indicted on 13 counts — a count each of theft by unauthorized taking and tampering with public records, six counts of failure to pay state income tax and five counts of failure to make and file state income tax returns, according to the complaint filed in Somerset County Unified Court on Thursday.
The document states that the money was stolen from January 2009 through Sept. 18, 2014, and that on March 15, Viles tampered with the green carbon copies of state motor vehicle registration forms maintained by the town in an attempt to cover her tracks.
An analysis of three year’s worth of excise taxes conducted by the firm Purdy Powers & Company at the Board of Selectmen’s request indicated a $125,356 shortfall in 2012, a $112,491 shortfall in 2013 and a $90,109 shortfall in 2014.
The audit firm was not asked to analyze excise taxes collected in 2011 and its examination of 2014 receipts including only those processed through Sept. 18 of that year.