BRATTLEBORO — A 51-year-old Guilford woman who was the treasurer for the Algiers Fire District was convicted of embezzlement by a federal grand jury last week.
According to the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont, a federal jury in Brattleboro last Thursday found Sherry Roebuck guilty of federal program embezzlement and mail fraud after a two-day trial. These convictions stem from charges that Roebuck embezzled more than $80,000 from the fire district.
Senior U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha continued Roebuck's release on conditions pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
In October 2011, a federal grand jury in Rutland returned a two-count indictment accusing Roebuck of embezzling more than $80,000 from the Algiers Fire District, which was established in 1993 by residents of Guilford to provide sewer service to people who lived in the village of Algiers.
Between 2007 and March 2011, Roebuck served as the treasurer of the fire district, mailing out quarterly bills to district members, receiving payments, and handling the district's banking. According to the indictment, beginning in late 2007 and continuing until March 2011, Roebuck embezzled from the district by writing numerous checks to herself without authorization, then cashing the checks at local banks.
Roebuck's theft was not uncovered until early 2011, shortly after she resigned. According to the Burlington Free Press, local officials discovered the embezzlement when the fire district's account ran out of money. Board member Herb Meyer told the Free Press last year that the volunteer board did not scrutinize the district's bank statements.
In court papers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Waples stated that Roebuck had written checks to herself totaling $84,000. Evidence from her banking records showed that she paid off her $518 monthly car loan in cash, according to court papers. Five times, those payments came immediately after cashing a fire district check written to her, court papers said.
The Free Press reported that, according to court records, Vermont State Police seized records from Roebuck's house that showed she was in financial trouble - including letters from creditors - and that Roebuck's boyfriend, Bruce Gilman, told police that she sometimes borrowed money from the fire district but that she told him she repaid it.
The U.S. Attorney's office says that Roebuck faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.