Maine State House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham has been fined thousands of dollars by the state for hiring a 14-year-old for a lobster boat he owns.

Records reportedly show the labor violations happened two years ago on Faulkingham’s lobster boat out of Winter Harbor, where he supposedly hired the minor for hauling and baiting lobster traps on multiple occasions.

The state has accused the House Minority Leader of failing to keep proper time records and not providing pay statements for the minor.

Faulkingham did appeal the state’s original fine for violated labor laws and won but still has to pay nearly $3,500 in fines for not producing the statements.

Faulkingham claimed in a text message that the case and fine were “…100% political weaponization of the government against a political opponent”. As of Saturday, neither the governor’s office nor the state department of labor have commented.

To read the original Bangor Daily News article, click here.