Former corrections officer pleads not guilty to falsifying hours worked

An officer at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he falsified his time sheets and collected nearly $7,000 for work he did not perform.

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Chad Newton

Former corrections officer pleads not guilty to falsifying hours worked Staff Report Tuesday, August 29, 2017 SPRINGFIELD VT Springfield, Vt. — An officer at Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he falsified his time sheets and collected nearly $7,000 for work he did not perform. A judge released Chad Newton after his arraignment on Tuesday in Windsor Superior Court. Vermont State Police launched an investigation into Newton’s time sheets in February after a supervisor detected irregularities, according to an affidavit filed in the White River Junction courthouse. Officials examined time sheets that were submitted between June 2013 and February 2017 and found that not every time sheet contained errors, but “fifty-eight incorrect entries were made by Newton on his time sheets spread out over thirty-four time sheet submissions,” according to the affidavit. The most common error included Newton submitting time sheets claiming he worked when he was on leave, according to the affidavit. Police claim the total loss based on the time sheets examined was $6,943. When approached by police at his Springfield residence in early August, Newton told an officer that he “made a couple mistakes but he never intentionally defrauded the state money,” the affidavit states. Newton’s next hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.