Former library staffer set for sentencing in embezzlement case

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Former San Benito County Free Library supervising librarian Erin Baxter is scheduled for sentencing Aug. 7 after pleading no contest to charges she embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the library. 

A second accused embezzler, Mary Alvarez, is scheduled for trial on Sept. 8

According to court documents, Baxter faces a maximum of four years and four months in jail.

Baxter was charged in May 2024 with three felony counts involving an alleged embezzlement scheme, including forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime with public funds.

According to court documents, Baxter allegedly spent between $100,000 and $500,000 of the library’s money on merchandise between July 2022 and April 2023. 

San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor previously told BenitoLink that the merchandise, including camping equipment and electronics, was found at Baxter’s home. He also said Baxter opened up a number of accounts that allowed her to order merchandise. No actual cash had been taken, he said.

According to court documents, Alvarez allegedly “took past-due invoices, forwarded to another to be altered, passed or uttered altered invoices to the auditor controller for payment.”

Baxter originally pleaded not guilty in July 2024 but changed her plea on March 20. Alvarez, who faces charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, pleaded not guilty in September.

The library has been in the spotlight since May 2023 when the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department began investigating a criminal complaint. That investigation, led by the FBI, resulted in embezzlement charges for Baxter, the former supervising librarian. She had been a county employee since January 2017.

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