AUGUSTA — Allegedly collecting $3,000 in unemployment checks while serving a jail sentence has landed a Portland man in more legal trouble.

Vincent John Cueto, 43, of Portland, was indicted Monday by a grand jury in Kennebec County on charges of theft by deception and violation of condition of release.

An indictment is not a determination of guilt, but it is an indication that sufficient evidence is present to proceed with formal charges and a trial in superior court.

The indictment accuses Cueto of collecting cash from the Maine Department of Labor between Oct. 8, 2010, and Jan. 18, 2011.

It also charges him with a violation of condition of release, saying he made contact Feb. 13 with an individual who is a potential witness in the case.

Cueto had been sentenced last December in Kennebec County Superior Court to 364 days in jail, with all but six months suspended and two years’ probation after he was convicted of two counts of domestic violence assault, one each in September and October. Both occurred in Augusta.

“He was in jail collecting unemployment, a little over $3,000,” said District Attorney Evert Fowle.

Fowle said the witness was an unwitting accomplice and that the scheme was discovered partly through phone conversations that were monitored. “He asked someone on the outside to continue getting the money and processing the unemployment claims,” Fowle said.

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