Kristifer Hutchins, 33, of Standish, the former office manager at Southern Maine Firewood in Gorham, has been charged with embezzling approximately $150,000 from the company over the course of three years. He has been indicted on six counts of misuse of entrusted property and theft. He turned himself in to Gorham Police on September 1.
Jake Dyer, owner of Southern Maine Firewood, has been in business for 28 years and employs three people. When he needed a new business manager, another employee recommended Hutchins. Dyer said it can be “a struggle” to find help. After being hired, Hutchins urged Dyer to go paperless and he took care of the financial end of the business through the office computer system. Dyer described Hutchins as great with customers, as well as being very glib.
Dyer began having suspicions and began trying to confirm his belief that Hutchins was embezzling from him. Ultimately, he contacted the Gorham Police Department and Sgt. Dan Young investigated. This is the largest embezzlement case ever reported in Gorham.
Photo courtesy of GPDDyer still struggles with the fact that Hutchins looked him in the eye and lied to him “day in and day out” and says it has made him “lose his faith in people.”
Hutchins ordered numerous personal items on Amazon including a $1,000 laptop and a workout bench. Hutchins used Dyer’s credit cards, debit card and PayPal account but the information only came through on the computer so Dyer did not see the specific charges. Hutchins opened a debit account in his wife’s name and the couple took a trip to the Dominican Republic. He also spent at least $500 buying items for a local band that he was a member of.
Hutchins has two previous felony convictions. In 2003, he was charged with aggravated criminal mischief (over $2000) and pled guilty to criminal mischief. In 2005, he was charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs and firearms. He was convicted of possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm.
Dyer has hired a lawyer and plans to put a lien on property owned by Hutchins with the hope of recovering some of his losses. Hutchins is expected to be indicted by the Grand Jury in October on five Class B felonies with a possible sentence of up to 10 years on each charge and one count of a Class C felony with a possible sentence of up to five years. Prior to these charges, Hutchins was not known to local law enforcement.