Medical worker fraudulently got boats from federal program

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A former emergency preparedness director at Maine Medical Center has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a federal court in Maine on Wednesday. The Portland Press Herald reports that Joshua Cory Frances admitted to portraying himself as a federal employee and falsely saying that a medical aid group he led was a law enforcement agency. Those claims allowed him to obtain a 44-foot sailboat and a 27-foot Boston Whaler from a federal program that transfers excess equipment from the Defense Department to law enforcement agencies. Frances could face up to 20 years in prison and large fines. His attorney said he had made mistakes but he owned up to them with the guilty plea.