A Brunswick woman who embezzled more than $365,000 from a Wiscasset nonprofit has been sentenced to 20 months in prison, according to a statement issued Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty.

Stacey Backman, 41, who had been a fund accountant at Coastal Enterprises Inc., pleaded guilty in June to embezzling the money over nearly four years, starting in 2010, and failing to report the income on her federal income tax returns.

CEI learned of the embezzlement in January 2014 and fired Backman.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court by Judge D. Brock Hornby ordered Backman to repay the embezzled money to CEI, a private, nonprofit, charitable Community Development Corporation and Community Development Financial Institution that received more than $10,000 in federal funds each year.

Backman faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the charge.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division; the U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the Wiscasset Police Department.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.