Ex-center owner guilty of bottle refund theft
One of the former owners of a Kittery redemption center was found guilty of stealing more than $10,000 in bottle redemption refunds and handling fees.
On Friday, Thomas Woodard was found guilty by a York County Superior Court jury of redeeming more than 100,000 bottles from out of state between 2008 to 2010, according to the Portland Press Herald. Woodard and his wife, Megan, owned Green Bee Redemption in Kittery, and were accused of redeeming out-of-state bottles from two men, including an employee, and collecting handling fees from distributors. The Woodards' attorney said the couple did not know where the bottles were from, but the prosecution argued the couple should have been suspicious of out-of-state residents seeking to redeem such large quantities of bottles. Both Thomas and Megan Woodard were indicted earlier this year on a charge of theft by deception for stealing bottle refunds from Maine beverage manufacturers, distributors and collection agents. Megan Woodard was acquitted because evidence showed her husband was more involved in the fraud.
Thomas Woodard has not been sentenced but could face jail time, according to the paper. About $8 million in bottle redemption fraud occurs annually in Maine.
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