LINCOLN, Maine — A 36-year-old man was being held on $1,500 bail after police charged him on Christmas Eve in connection with five incidents of fraud or breach of contract, officials said Monday.
Charles Simon Jr. of Lincoln was charged with five counts of Class C theft by unauthorized taking or transfer on Dec. 24 by Maine State Police. He was ordered held at Penobscot County Jail after an appearance on Monday at the Penobscot Judicial Center, a jail spokeswoman said.
Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy described Simon as a man with a lengthy criminal record involving fraud and theft who is accused of bilking victims out of at least $13,500 since March 2014.
The five cases against Simon, Almy said, include allegations that he sold in September 2014 restaurant equipment worth $6,000 for $1,500 by claiming, erroneously, that he was entitled to do so by a contract he had signed. The contract, however, made no such provision, police said.
Simon also allegedly accepted in March 2014 payments to build a cabin or barn for $9,600 in Enfield but never did the work. In August 2014, he accepted $2,400 to provide a guided bear hunt with lodging and meals and never did, Almy said.
A complete listing of the cases against Simon wasn’t immediately available on Monday, and state police Trooper Larry Anderson’s investigation is continuing, Almy said.
“There are multiple instances of scamming he did in his history,” Almy said.
A criminal record check on Monday revealed that Simon was imprisoned for one year and served four years of probation in May 2003 after being convicted of forgery and theft by unauthorized taking or transfer earlier that year. Simon’s record prior to that included a half-dozen forgery and three theft charges that resulted in him paying fines.
Class C crimes carry with them as many as five years incarceration and a $5,000 fine.
Simon is being held on $1,500 bail and is due in court on Feb. 8, a jail spokeswoman said.