MONTVILLE, Maine — A former town clerk in Montville is under investigation after missing vehicle registration funds were uncovered last year, around the time she resigned.
“I can confirm the incident has been reported to us,” Chief Deputy Jason Trundy said in an email last week when asked whether the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office was investigating embezzlement in Montville. He declined to confirm or provide any details because the investigation continues.
Abbie Hills, the former town clerk, has been the target of a months-long review following the alleged embezzlement, according to town meeting minutes.
Montville officials didn’t immediately respond to a message requesting comment Monday, and meeting records don’t indicate how much money is believed to be missing.
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Hills resigned from her position Sept. 25, 2017, a week before her term expired. The resignation appears to have been a surprise, as the town office had to adjust its hours and quickly launch a search for Hills’ replacement, according to minutes.
The select board went into executive session immediately after Hills’ resignation was announced.
Less than two months later, the town announced that the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles had found discrepancies while conducting an audit as part of a transition from manual vehicle registrations to computer-based software.
The audit revealed that Hills allegedly hadn’t collected the correct amount of excise tax for some vehicle registrations, most of which were paid by family members. The amount of money unaccounted for was “relatively small,” and the board said it was looking into whether the “miscalculations were by design or mistake,” according to the minutes.
Hills claimed in a letter to the town’s audit board that the discrepancies were mistakes.
The town reviewed all of Hills bookkeeping for 2017 and 2016, as well as 2012 to determine whether it should review all of the past five years.
As the board continued to review registration documents, it found “additional irregularities in cash transactions by Abbie Hills,” according to the minutes.
A full town audit was scheduled for early March, but the report wasn’t prepared in time for the town’s annual meeting last weekend. The results have been reported to the state auditor’s office, attorney general’s office and Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ investigative wing.
A message left Monday morning at a number listed for Hills was not immediately returned.
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