Investigations have revealed at least $86,000 was taken from over a three-year period.
RUMFORD – An Oxford County grand jury indicted a former longtime SAD 43 employee Thursday on a charge of felony theft.
Timothy J. McInnis, 52, of 810 Kennebec St., Rumford, was charged with embezzling more than $86,000 from SAD 43 and Mountain Valley High School from 2000 to 2003.
He was summoned to appear at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 8, for arraignment at Oxford County Superior Court in Paris. If convicted, McInnis could face up to 10 years in prison.
McInnis, who was employed for more than 30 years by SAD 43, served as the district’s athletic director for the last 17 years at Mountain Valley High School.
After school officials reportedly found discrepancies in McInnis’ athletic department account, the athletic director was placed on administrative leave in mid-January. He resigned on Feb. 2.
When contacted Friday, a SAD 43 official in Superintendent James Hodgkin’s office said the district had no comment on the matter.
Rumford Detective Lt. Wayne Gallant, said Friday that he first learned of suspected financial improprieties by McInnis on Jan. 13 when Hodgkin and high school Principal Bruce Lindberg came to the police station.
“They reported there had been a theft of several thousands of dollars from the athletic department’s account,” Gallant said.
According to the indictment, Gallant’s investigation revealed that from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2003, McInnis took more than $86,000 cash from the district.
In the early stages of the investigation, Gallant said he was only checking McInnis’ financial records as far as six months. But new information revealed the theft had apparently been going on much longer.
“There may have been more money taken, but what we’ve been able to track is what we felt comfortable with in presenting the case to the grand jury,” Gallant added.
He said he was comfortable with the investigation, which went down many avenues, including multiple subpoenas to banking institutions for records.
“But I’m not comfortable that this much money has been taken from the district, the students and taxpayers. I don’t know how that will reflect on the district’s new school budgets, or if they’re taking this figure and averaging it out,” Gallant said.
Among the evidence, were more than 100 checks ranging from $50 to $1,000.
“There were a lot of checks that were made to look like legitimate athletic department payouts, but, in fact, the checks were all made out to and cashed by Tim McInnis,” Gallant said.
The department’s financial books were also found to be doctored, he added.
“We have our suspicions about where and how the money was used, but it appears that all the money was taken by Mr. McInnis for personal use. He did not get a whole lot of personal gain for the money,” Gallant added.
At no time during the investigation did Gallant and SAD 43 officials find any evidence of a conspiracy by others. he said. Nor did they find evidence that McInnis had been betting on Mountain Valley High School games.
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