ELLSWORTH, Maine — A Mount Desert Island man has been sentenced to serve 30 days in jail after pleading no contest to stealing more than $18,000 in unemployment benefits from the state.
It is one of seven unemployment fraud cases in Maine that have ended with convictions in the past three months, according to state officials.
Keith N. Goodrich, 47, of Bar Harbor had been charged with Class B theft by deception and Class E unemployment fraud. The Class B charge is a felony that, with a conviction, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $20,000. The fraud charge, a misdemeanor, is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
According to prosecutors, Goodrich filed weekly unemployment claims and collected $18,295 in benefits between early December 2010 and early June of 2013, during which time he actually was employed and being paid for that work.
Goodrich since has repaid all the money he illegally claimed and collected, according to documents filed in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court.
As part of a plea deal with the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office, he pleaded no contest on Dec. 30 to a Class D charge of theft by deception and was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail. He was allowed to postpone the start of his sentence and reported to Hancock County Jail on Jan. 11.
A conviction on a Class D charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 364 days in jail and a fine of $2,000. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dismissed the Class B theft and Class E fraud charges.
Goodrich’s case followed six other unemployment fraud cases that all were resolved last November with criminal convictions and resulting restitution orders, according to a prepared statement released last week by the Maine Department of Labor. The total amount of money all seven defendants were accused of stealing, including Goodrich, was more than $55,613.
According to the MDOL release, the other defendants, sentences and theft amounts are:
— James Cushing, 53, of Perry, 60 hours community service, $4,344.
— David Denbow, 46, Marshfield, nine months in jail (all suspended), one year probation, $4,824.
— William Enochs, 45, Lincoln, deferred disposition of seven days in jail if he repays $7,803.
— Michael Love, 38, Brewer, no sentence listed, $10,813.
— Blaine McLaughlin, 46, Baileyville, 18 months in jail (all suspended), two years probation, 60 hours community service, $4,158.
— Joshua Underwood, 40, Harmony, nine months in jail (all suspended), two years probation, 20 hours community service, $5,376.
State officials said in the release that the state Department of Labor has stepped up its efforts to detect and refer unemployment fraud cases for prosecution.
In 2012, 15 unemployment fraud cases in Maine resulted in five convictions. The following year, 88 cases resulted in 18 convictions and, in 2014, 84 cases resulted in 34 convictions.
“We will not tolerate unemployment fraud,” state Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette said in the release. “In 2015, we had 23 convictions and recovered through prosecution more than $85,000 in fraudulent payments with an additional $6,473 in penalties and interest.”
According to Paquette, there are an additional 78 unemployment fraud cases pending in district attorneys’ offices throughout the state.
