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Justin Cole, 38, allegedly stole from Uxbridge, Millville, and Monterey (in Berkshire County), according to the Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Cole was the Hadley and Hatfield town accountant as recently as 2019 when Cole announced he was closing his business, Bay State Municipal Accounting Group, to focus on his family and health.
Cole has been indicted on the charges of five counts of larceny over $250, two counts of larceny over $1,200, four counts of making false claims, four counts of securing an unwarranted privilege, and unlawful financial interest of a municipal employee, the AG said in a July statement.
All together, Cole is accused of stealing $729,531, mostly from Uxbridge.
Cole allegedly stole:
- $657,334 from Uxbridge
- $24,5997 from Monterey and
- $47,600 from Millville, the AG said.
From 2012 through 2017, Cole is accused of stealing from Uxbridge while he was the town accountant. He allegedly stole town funds by submitting and approving false invoices that caused Uxbridge to pay for services that were never provided, the AG said. He also allegedly used Uxbridge funds to pay the rent on his office space and purchase equipment for his business.
After stepping down as Uxbridge’s accountant in 2017, Cole went on to provide financial services to Monterey and Millville where he allegedly stole from town funds via fraudulent billing, the AG said.
Officials from Hadley and Hatfield told The Daily Hampshire Gazette that they do not believe Cole stole from either town.
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