By Mike Donoghue, Standard Correspondent
A Woodstock woman, who federal officials say embezzled at least $130,000 from her former employer in Plymouth, has pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington to three counts of fraud.
Susan Blaue, 39, denied felony charges of forgery, mail fraud and credit card fraud involving ABLE Waste Management, where
she worked from July 2012 to January 30, 2015.
The government also filed a forfeiture notice seeking Blaue to surrender any property derived from proceeds traceable to the fraud case, according to the indictment.
The money was taken from the waste management business, owned by Arthur Lynds, and two of his related companies, A & M Property Management and Lynds Hill Rentals, the indictment said.
“Between approximately March 2013 and January 30, 2015, Blaue defrauded Lynds and his companies of not less than $130,000,” the indictment noted.
Blaue issued numerous checks to herself without authorization and drawn from the TD Bank, according to the indictment. It further claims
Blaue also forged the owner’s signature on the checks or used his signature rubber stamp without permission and then deposited the checks into her own bank accounts.
She also used company funds to pay her personal bills and used company credit cards issued by the TD Bank to make personal purchases, according to the indictment secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples. Blaue also lived in a company-owned house on Lynds Hill Road while employed by the waste management firm, the indictment said. Blaue either skipped paying her $1,200 a month rent or paid it with checks drawn on either the waste management or property management companies, according to the charges.
The company offers curbside garbage routes in Plymouth, Bridgewater, Woodstock, Brownsville, Hartland, Reading, White River Junction, Ascutney, Windsor and surrounding areas, its website says.
Blaue, who was a bookkeeper and in charge of payroll, along with accounts payable and receivable for all three companies, began taking money in March 2013, court records show.
The indictment lists 47 checks ranging up to $2,416 unlawfully drawn
on the ABLE Waste Management, while another 67 checks ranging up to $1,108 illegally drawn on A & M Property.
The court appointed Blaue a lawyer at taxpayer expense when she was arraigned last Wednesday afternoon. Assistant Federal Public Defender David McColgin did not respond to a phone message left for him seeking comment for The Standard. Blaue, formerly of Douglas, Massachusetts, also could not be reached for comment.
If convicted, Blaue faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss agreed to release Blaue on conditions, including restricting the defendant’s travel to Vermont and New Hampshire and requiring her to surrender any passport and not seek a new one. Reiss also ordered Blaue to participate in mental health treatment as directed and to take medications as prescribed, court records show. She also is prohibited from possessing any firearms or destructive devices. She also was told to seek employment.
The Windsor County Sheriff’s Department was alerted on Feb. 2, 2015 about possible suspicious activity and Sgt. Philip Call was assigned to the case, record shows.
The Sheriff’s Department ordered Blaue into state criminal court, but a decision was later made by the Windsor County State’s Attorney’s Office to send the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Burlington for prosecution. The U.S. Secret Service Office in Vermont later joined in the case.
The federal grand jury indicted Blaue on the three felony charges on March 29, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office asked the court to seal the records until they could secure her arrest.
This article first appeared in the May 4, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.