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A former employee of L.L.Bean and Wright Express pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges related to bilking the two companies of $450,000.

Matthew J. LaForge of Brunswick pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and tax evasion, according to the Sun Journal, and faces up to 25 years of prison time and $250,000 per charge in fines. He reportedly billed both companies for marketing services provided by a bogus company and had payments sent to a mailbox in New Hampshire. According to the paper, LaForge took about $231,000 from Wright Express over a three-year period and about $220,000 from L.L.Bean over a subsequent three-year period. He also failed to report the money as income and faces more than $89,000 in unpaid income taxes.

LaForge is required to pay restitution to the companies, their insurers and the Internal Revenue Service, according to the paper.

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