Man sentenced for bottle redemption fraud
A former owner of a Kittery bottle redemption center has been sentenced to 21 days in jail for stealing more than $10,000 in bottle refunds and handling fees.
Thomas Woodard, who ran Green Bee Redemption, was sentenced Friday in York County Superior Court, according to the Portland Press Herald. Woodard in August was convicted of fraudulently redeeming more than 100,000 out-of-state bottles between 2008 and 2010 and stealing thousands from beverage manufacturers and distributors. He collected a handling fee of 3 to 3.5 cents per container from distributors. His wife, Megan, was acquitted. Woodard is free on bail while he appeals the conviction to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.
The case was the state's first criminal trial over bottle redemption fraud. About $8 million in bottle redemption fraud occurs annually in Maine, according to industry officials.
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