According to a recent release by a government investigation based in Hinkley, Me., USA, officials have found that an operator of a wood-cutting business based in the state has provided enough evidence to be accused of clearly and deliberately overcharging his paper mill customer by more than $13,000.

Officials said that 57-year-old Jay McLaughlin of Medway, Maine overcharged on the volume and transport of wood supplies to the paper mill for what amounted for a total of an additional $7 per each ton. This particular wood was being hauled to Sappi Paper’s Somerset mill.  McLaughlin is now being charged with theft by deception.

WABI, Bangor, Me., reported that the contract was for wood to be hauled from Oakfield when Mclaughlin was actually taking the wood from Sebois to Hinckley, a shorter distance. The state’s district attorney has now provided additional information, including that Mclaughlin was charged last year with a similar crime. 

Several sources interviewed identified with the paper industry, claiming that such practices are unfortunately something "very real" that can happen, although modern methods for accounting of raw forest materials makes it extremely difficult to get away with. But it can still be tried by those determined to scam a business partner, and although the price for a large paper producer of $13,000 may seem low on the surface, it is enough to significantly damage the ability for a modern paper producer to measure their efficiency and output capabilities on local machines. A belief in an inability to produce as much quality paper as their machines are truly capable of due to theft of the raw materials can possibly lead to even larger, more unwarranted losses in the long-term.