RUMFORD — A Rumford man pleaded guilty Monday in Rumford District Court to scamming state benefits by returning dumped water bottles for deposit.
Richard J. Maloy, 49, of Waldo Street, was convicted of trafficking in benefits, fined $200 by Justice Nancy Carlson and ordered to pay $20.94 restitution by Aug. 3 to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, according to his court file. Carlson did not impose a jail sentence.
Rumford police Sgt. Tracey Higley, assisted by DHHS fraud investigator Sean Scully, charged Maloy on April 12 with unlawful trafficking in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits.
Maloy was accused of buying water with state benefits, emptying the bottles and collecting the deposit.
Last week, Linda Goodman, 57, of Norway, pleaded not guilty in a Paris court to a single charge of unlawful trafficking in SNAP benefits in a different case. As reported by the Advertiser Democrat, Goodman purchased about $125 in water cases and redeemed about $38.
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