Local store owner sentenced
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PORTAGE LAKE — The owner of Coffin’s General Store, Lynn C. Taylor, 64, of Portage Lake, was sentenced in Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta recently to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay restitution, in connection with the misuse of funds collected at the store for the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.
Taylor served as a license and registration agent, processing hunting and fishing licenses for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife — based on an agreement signed with the department in 2006.
Under the contract, it was Taylor’s responsibility to collect money from the sale of licenses, permits and registrations for the state. Said funds were not for business or personal use. Between November 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008, however, Taylor failed to turn over $16,752 in fees, violating the contract with the state.
On Monday, Attorney General William Schneider announced Taylor — who was indicted in February of this year in Kennebec County on the charge of theft by misapplication of property — pleaded guilty on Friday to misappropriating license fees; under a plea agreement she was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to repay $16,000 in fees within six months of the plea. Should Taylor fail to make restitution, she could face a sentence of up to five years in prison.
According to a report by Betty Adams in the Kennebec Journal dated February 16, Taylor indicated “someone else was handling the accounts at that point and that some of the money went to pay bills in a souring economy.”
“We entrust certain individuals to act as sales agents to sell hunting, fishing and other licenses on behalf of th IF&W to the general public,” said Schneider. “The fees collected for those licenses are necessary for the enforcement of fish and game laws and the protection of Maine’s wildlife resources. License fees do not belong to the licensing agent, but to the state, and failure to turn over the fees amounts to theft.”
