Central Maine Woman Sentenced to Prison After Stealing $221K

A woman from Belgrade, Maine, who was accused of and then convicted of stealing from the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville has been sentenced.

According to the Kennebec Journal, 46-year-old, Sherrie Genness, spent several years defrauding the non-profit organization of more than $221,000.00. The KJ reports that the embezzling began in 2014 and lasted through 2019.

It's said that the stealing of money happened incrementally and occurred almost every single day throughout the nearly 6 year run. Those familiar with the case say that Genness would cover up the fraud with transactions. Over the 6 year span, there were more than 1,700 fraudulent transactions on the books.

Genness, who has now been found guilty of the crimes, was sentenced earlier this week. For starters, Genness has been ordered to repay $125,000 of the stolen funds directly back to the Alfond Youth & Community Center.

The Kennebec Journal went on to report that the other $96,000 is to be paid back to Hanover Insurance Company, they're the company that made payouts to the Alfond Youth Center to cover some of the losses from the embezzlement.

In addition to repay the stolen funds, the judge overseeing the case ordered Genness to serve two years in prison and serve three years probation following her incarceration, the KJ reported.

Maeghan Maloney, Kennebec County District Attorney and board member at the Alfond Youth Center, said in part about the case,

“I want the court to understand Ms. Genness did not steal from a big, multinational corporation. She stole from a community center serving the most vulnerable people in our community, these people are children and teenagers. What these children are given there is a safe place to grow up and to learn. These are the children, these are the teens, that Ms. Genness stole from. And she didn’t steal from them one day. She stole from them day after day after day — for years. And that’s what really hurts.”