(Providence, RI) -- A former Rhode Island state representative-elect is pleading guilty to embezzlement and campaign finance charges. The state attorney general says 27-year-old Laufton Ascencao pleaded no contest to charges stemming from the embezzlement of over $16,000 from the Rhode Island Chapter of the Sierra Club, where he served as treasurer. Prosecutors said Ascencao used the money to pay for campaign expenses. Ascencao was elected to serve the 68th Rhode Island House District in Bristol and Warren in 2018, but resigned before taking office. The A.G.'s office says he has been given a five-year suspended jail sentence with probation and has been ordered to pay restitution to the Sierra Club.
photo: Getty Images