PARIS — A Bethel man has been sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to repay $10,000 he took from an elderly man he did chores for.

According to a deal with state prosecutors, Joshua Gaudreau, 28, pleaded guilty in Oxford County Superior Court on Wednesday to Class B forgery. He was sentenced to three years in prison with all but six months suspended in exchange for dismissing a Class B theft count.

Class B felonies are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Prosecutors alleged that between May 5, 2011, and March 11, 2013, Gaudreau forged 28 checks totaling over $10,000 in the name of Earl Laidlaw of Norway. The money was used to fuel an addiction to the painkiller OxyContin, prosecutors said.

During that time, Gaudreau was employed regularly by Laidlaw as a handyman for tasks ranging from automotive repairs, feeding farm animals to conducting specific ATM transactions and handling his mail. 

He was given Laidlaw’s debit card and pin number, according to court records. 

According to a statement provided along with court documents, Laidlaw wrote that their relationship was similar to that of “father and son.”

Several years ago, Laidlaw noticed unauthorized transactions on his billing statements totaling $2,400. When confronted, Gaudreau reportedly confessed and stated he didn’t want to go to jail. Laidlaw declined to press charges, and Gaudreau continued working for him, completing chores as “penance.”

In the beginning of 2013, Laidlaw wrote that he again became suspicious that Gaudreau, who at this time was in charge of getting Laidlaw’s mail because his health declined, was stealing money because he noticed he had not been receiving regular bank statements.

Laidlaw met with Norway Savings Bank officials to see his statements and pointed out the unauthorized withdrawals, including the forged checks. He calculated they tallied over $100,000. 

In June 2013, Gaudreau confessed to the forgery in front of deputies from the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, according to a timeline provided in court records.

Laidlaw was a chief clerk in the U.S. District Court in Portland and practicing attorney at Dow’s Law Office in Norway. He died in July at age 83. 

Goudreau’s sentence has been stayed until Feb. 2. He will be subject to special terms and conditions during a three-year probation after completing the prison sentence.

ccrosby@sunjournal.com