AUBURN – A former sewer clerk for Livermore Falls who is accused of taking more than $100,000 from town coffers is expected to appear in court today.

Faith Nichols, 36, of Livermore Falls is scheduled for arraignment in Androscoggin County Superior Court on a charge of theft by unauthorized taking, a class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The complaint stems from an audit of town finances that pointed a finger at Nichols. She admitted taking $102,000, which went missing over an 18-month period. Nichols reportedly said she used the money for personal use.

Since then, she has repaid $25,000 of it and intends to repay the entire amount, she told Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. William Gagne, who investigated the case.

Ron Smith, of a certified public accounting firm in Wilton, told selectmen in December that Nichols had altered town records, destroying some of them, earlier published reports said.

His firm, RHR Smith & Co., recreated the town’s sewer records for the time Nichols was apparently taking money from the town, published reports said.

Smith said the town plans to file suit to recoup its lost sewer funds and will seek to attach Nichols’ home.

Town officers changed the way local sewer funds are supervised, giving the town clerk more oversight.

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