KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A man who worked for Plum Creek Timber while also receiving unemployment benefits has been given a six-year deferred sentence and was ordered to pay more than $38,000 in restitution.

The Daily Inter Lake reports (http://bit.ly/1QQZcUO ) Thomas L. Croft, who now lives in Pennsylvania, made claims from August 2008 to August 2010 that he was entitled to over $31,000 in benefits. State investigators found he had been paid over $66,000 while working for Plum Creek during that time.

Croft entered an Alford plea to felony theft. Under the plea, he maintains his innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction.

District Judge David Ortley said Croft could not drink or gamble while on probation. Defense attorney Lane Bennett questioned that condition, but Ortley said those are luxuries that Croft can't afford.

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