Opinion ID: 2784998
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: A person is guilty of theft if:

Text: A. The person obtains or exercises control over property of another as a result of deception and with intent to deprive the other person of the property. Violation of this paragraph is a Class E crime; or B. The person violates paragraph A and: 7 [¶11] The two cases were tried together in a bench trial in December 2013, during which the court admitted, over hearsay objections by Abdi and Ahmed, nine of the 50059 forms dated from 2002 to 2008.5 The State’s primary witness was Tina Pelletier, President of NC/REMA and a “certified occupancy specialist.” Pelletier testified as to how the property management company screened tenants, created and maintained the 50059 forms, and used income and asset information to calculate the subsidy and the tenant’s share of rent. [¶12] Pelletier testified, and the State’s exhibits demonstrated, that she personally conducted the re-certification interviews with Abdi and Ahmed and completed the 50059 forms in 2006 and 2007. Pelletier further testified that in years when other certified occupancy specialists completed the forms, she nonetheless personally reviewed and transmitted the information on the 50059 (1) The value of the property is more than $10,000. Violation of this subparagraph is a Class B crime; .... 2. For purposes of this section, deception occurs when a person intentionally: A. Creates or reinforces an impression that is false and that the person does not believe to be true, including false impressions as to identity, law, value, knowledge, opinion, intention or other state of mind; except that an intention not to perform a promise, or knowledge that a promise will not be performed, may not be inferred from the fact alone that the promise was not performed. 5 The indictment period was from July 11, 2006, to May 31, 2008, due to the six-year statute of limitations for a Class B crime. See 17-A M.R.S. § 8(2)(A) (2014). However, the court considered evidence dating back to 2002, concluding that it was relevant to the state of mind of the defendants and to show a pattern or course of conduct. See M.R. Evid. 404(b); State v. Olmo, 2014 ME 138, ¶ 15, 106 A.3d 396. 8 forms to the administering agencies and managed the subsidy payments account on behalf of the landlord. [¶13] The court also heard testimony from Kevin Fletcher, the realtor who sold the two properties to Abdi and Ahmed in 2004 and 2008. He testified that Abdi and Ahmed were able to pay off their two mortgages, of $120,000 and $146,000, within nineteen and fifteen months, respectively. [¶14] The court found Abdi and Ahmed guilty as charged in the indictments.6 In its opinion, the court stated that it had admitted the 50059 forms as business records pursuant to M.R. Evid. 803(6), finding, based in part on the testimony provided by Pelletier, that the “form was standard to and essential in the business of Section 8 housing assistance and it was used in the regular course of business by NC/REMA.” [¶15] Ahmed was sentenced to four years in prison with all but nine months suspended and three years’ probation. Abdi was sentenced to four years in prison with all but ten months suspended and three years’ probation. The court also imposed joint and several liability for restitution in the amount of $46,493. Abdi and Ahmed each filed a timely appeal, and their appeals have been consolidated by order of this Court. 6 Abdi was also charged with attempted theft by deception (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. §§ 152(1), 354(1)(B)(4) (2014), of funds from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program. The court entered a verdict of not guilty on that charge. 9