The former office manager charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Vermont electric utility is set to repay some of that money through her retirement account.
A lawyer for Hardwick Electric says Joyce Bellavance agreed that half of her monthly retirement check will go to the utility for the rest of her life.
The tentative between Bellavance and the utility would settle a civil suit against her.
Bellavance is said to have embezzled $1.4 million from the utility over a decade. She faces federal criminal charges that she embezzled $180,000, but prosecutors say she took the larger amount.
Hardwick Electric attorney Brooke Dingledine tells the Burlington Free Press she’s pleased with the agreement.
Bellavance’s attorney could not be reached for comment.