FARMINGTON – A Stratton construction company has filed suit against a former bookkeeper, accusing her of stealing an estimated $452,906.

J.L. Brochu Inc. claims that former bookkeeper Tracy Ricker of Eustis made out checks to herself, financial institutions and car dealerships, from March 2005 until she was fired in February 2009.

J.L. Brochu, also known as Flagstaff Construction, specializes in highway, street and bridge construction, including building and maintaining logging roads. The company, which employs 45 people and reports $6 million in annual sales, has requested the civil case be sent to a jury trial.

The lawsuit claims that Ricker and her husband, Brian Ricker, used the money to buy, among other items, two new cars, according to documents filed in Franklin County Superior Court.

A judge has ordered an attachment in the amount of $211,898 on the couple’s personal property, including seven bank accounts.

Tracy and Brian Ricker have denied the accusations, according to court documents.

Maine State Police are investigating the case, but no criminal charges had been filed as of Friday. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson confirmed that the case is under investigation.

Brochu’s president, James Brochu, conducted a review of the company’s books on Jan. 29 and discovered multiple accounting irregularities, according to the suit.

Due to the amount of money and the nature of items believed to have been purchased with that money, it would have been impossible for her husband not to have been aware of the theft, according to the lawsuit.

As bookkeeper, Tracy Ricker was solely responsible for, among other things, managing, maintaining and reconciling Brochu’s accounts, paying invoices and reviewing statements.

The lawsuit asks for compensatory and punitive damages.