A Maine jury has found a former tax collector guilty of stealing more than $500,000 from the town of Anson.
Claudia Viles was convicted Wednesday in Somerset Superior Court of charges including felony theft and tampering with public records.
Prosecutors say the 66-year-old Viles stole the excise tax money over five years. She resigned in September after an Anson administrative assistant found a discrepancy between how much money she said she collected in 2014 and the amount she actually collected.
Her attorney had argued Viles was unfairly singled out when others could have been responsible. He says he anticipates filing an appeal.
The Morning Sentinel reports that employees who testified at trial say that Viles was the only person responsible for collecting the tax.
A sentencing date hasn't been set.
