PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday unanimously upheld the conviction of a Portland woman that a jury found guilty of stealing nearly $333,000 from an investor in a Washington County pulp mill purchase between December 2009 and January 2010.
Jody Flynn, 62, was sentenced in September to four years in prison with all but 9 months suspended.
In addition to jail time, she was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service work and pay nearly $333,000 in restitution.
Flynn was convicted by a Cumberland County jury in August 2014 of Class B theft by unauthorized taking, a crime that carries a maximum possible jail sentence of 10 years.
Justices heard oral arguments in the appeal in September at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta.
“We are pleased that the Law Court affirmed the jury verdict concluding that Jody Flynn had stolen funds entrusted to her by a foreign investor,” Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin, who prosecuted the case, said in an email. “We need to ensure that any funds invested in Maine industry are used as represented. The verdict shows that Maine will act to protect investors from fraud, regardless of where the investor is from.”
Efforts on Thursday morning to reach defense attorney Thomas Hallett of Portland were unsuccessful.
In 2009, Flynn formed Greentree Renewable Energy Inc. alongside business partner Berthier “Bert” Martin. A jury found that she subsequently diverted almost $333,000 of $500,000 wired to Greentree’s account by a Chinese investment firm as part of a deal to buy the former Domtar paper mill in Baileyville — now Woodland Pulp LLC — to her personal accounts.
Prosecutors said Flynn used the money to buy her son an Audi, pay her daughter’s tuition to Boston University, buy real estate and spend thousands on jewelry.
Martin, Flynn’s business partner, went on to complete the paper mill deal with International Grand Investment Corp., which eventually bought the mill from Domtar. International Grand is owned by Charmwell Holding Ltd., the same firm that paid Greentree the money Flynn embezzled.
When Martin was paid for his role in the final sale, the money Flynn did not return was deducted from his fees. As a result, all of the restitution money Flynn has been ordered to pay will go to Martin.
Bangor Daily News writer Seth Koenig contributed to this report.
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