News  Former Treasurer of South Royalston Nonprofit Indicted

BOSTON — A Worcester County grand jury indicted Vickie Paine, the former treasurer of the South Royalston Improvement Corporation (SRIC), on September 21, alleging that she stole over $30,000 in funds. Ms. Paine is charged with one count of larceny and one count of false entry in corporate books.

SRIC is a nonprofit entity that manages the water supply for the residents of South Royalston. SRIC collects water fees from residents to pay for the operation, maintenance and testing of the town’s water supply. Ms. Paine, 55, of Wayland, was the treasurer of SRIC until December 2013. As treasurer, she was responsible for collecting water fees and paying vendors.

During its investigation, the Office of the Inspector General found evidence that between 2009 and 2014, Ms. Paine withdrew approximately $30,000 from SRIC’s bank accounts for her own use. Investigators further found evidence that Ms. Paine obtained the funds through the following methods:

• Cash withdrawals
• Transferring money from SRIC’s accounts to Ms. Paine’s personal account
• Writing checks payable to cash, which Ms. Paine then signed and cashed

Investigators also allege that upon Ms. Paine’s resignation from SRIC, she left corporate records that showed numerous entries of payments to certain vendors. Investigators allege that the vendors did not receive those payments and found that the checks were instead written to cash and negotiated by Ms. Paine.

The charges against Ms. Paine are allegations and Ms. Paine is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office. For additional information about the indictment, see the Attorney General’s press release at: Former Treasurer at Nonprofit Indicted in Connection with Stealing $30,000.