BANGOR – A Bradford woman was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury for the alleged theft of $19,000 in fuel assistance funds intended for low-income Maine residents.

Barbara Jean Pearson, 41, is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 24 in U.S. District Court in Bangor on one count of theft, four counts of misuse of a Social Security number and three counts of bankruptcy fraud.

If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the theft charge alone. She also could be ordered to pay restitution.

The charges date back to 2001 when Pearson’s firm, Cold Stream Fuel, located on Route 2 in Enfield, contracted with Penquis Community Action Program to distribute $19,005 of the more than $3.6 million that the Bangor-based agency received through the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Cold Stream Fuel was to have delivered home heating oil to low-income people identified by Penquis CAP, according to court documents.

Pearson’s firm was to have notified the agency how much oil it delivered to each individual and then the agency would deduct it from each client’s account. Unused funds were to have been returned to Penquis CAP.

Court documents released Friday did not explain what Pearson did with the funds she allegedly misused.

The investigation into possible wrongdoing began in 2002 when more than a dozen federal agents took boxes of paperwork and computer information from Pearson’s home heating oil business.

Pearson also was indicted on Thursday for bankruptcy fraud for lying about when the firm had received LIHEAP funds when the company filed for bankruptcy.

She also allegedly did not disclose the existence of a credit union account and allegedly lied about her gross income in bankruptcy filings.

The Bradford woman also was indicted for using different names and Social Security numbers to obtain four credit cards. Court documents do not indicate how much she may have charged to the credit cards.

Other federal indictments released Friday included:

. Carey Gonyer, 37, Charleston, possession of child pornography.

. Lucien Yvan Marquis, 51, Bakerbrook, New Brunswick, Canada, eluding inspection, assaulting a federal officer, illegally departing a port of entry, importation of marijuana.

. Luis Filepe Rodriguez, 20, Brockton, Mass., felon in possession of a firearm.

. Richard E. Hurd Jr., 37, Bradford, felon in possession of ammunition.