Former Maine Selectwoman Sentenced to 87 Months for Fraud

A former Chelsea, Maine, selectwoman convicted of extortion and fraud has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison on 10 charges.

Carole Swan was sentenced on Friday to 87 months.

Swan, who spent 19 years as selectwoman, was convicted in September of extortion for using her position to seek kickbacks from a contractor who plowed the town’s roads. She also was convicted last July of workers’ compensation fraud and income tax fraud.

She told the judge in U.S. District Court in Bangor on Friday that she was “desperately sorry for all of this.” She said she never ever thought she would hurt her family and her community.

The Kennbec Journal reports that she has 60 days before she starts her sentence in a Texas federal prison.