9/17/2022
RawNews1st – Former Massachusetts town treasurer accused of embezzling up to $133,000 from town accounts.
A former town employee in Stow is accused of stealing as much as $133,000 from the town accounts, investigators said Friday as they charged the woman with taking part in an embezzlement scheme.
Authorities said Pamela Landry, who retired as the town of Stow treasurer in 2019, diverted money from the town bank accounts and lied to cover up her actions.
Landry, now a resident of Westminster, pleaded not guilty Friday in Concord District Court to a half-dozen charges, including embezzlement, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
The case began with a routine audit of town finances in 2019, Ryan said. An outside auditor came across “irregularities” that indicated a shortfall of more than $133,000 in the town accounts.
When asked about the inconsistencies, Landry claimed the responsibility lay with a bank error and submitted a fake bank statement as proof, the district attorney said.
A more in-depth investigation of the town finances between the town of Stow, the district attorney’s office and the Office of the Inspector General followed, in which authorities said they discovered Landry was diverting money from the town accounts and taking steps to cover her tracks.
She is accused of stealing between $45,000 and $133,584 in taxpayer dollars, money which has since been returned, the district attorney said.
Officials were unclear on exactly how much money Landry had returned. The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
Landry was arraigned Friday on six charges, including fiduciary embezzlement, making a false claim to a government agency, forgery, and related charges.
Judge Lynn C. Brendemuehl released Landry on personal recognizance and ordered her to have no contact with employees of the town of Stow.
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