ELYRIA — The former manager of Lorain County Community College’s bookstore has been indicted for a scheme in which she and another woman allegedly stole books and resold them on the Internet for a profit of $98,225.

Claudette Farrell, whose contract with the college wasn’t renewed after she was suspended last year during the investigation, is charged with money laundering, theft and two counts of theft in office.

Tina McElravy, a friend of Farrell’s from Kent, is charged with money laundering, theft and two counts of complicity to theft in office.

Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will said that Farrell, 64, stole 1,600 books that were listed as damaged and worked with McElravy, 45, to sell them online. He said the investigation determined that additional books were taken directly from the store’s shelves or from student trade-ins and sold by the pair.

Will said investigators believe the value of the stolen books was approximately $100,000.

In addition to helping Farrell sell the stolen books, Will said McElravy also assisted her in laundering the money they made off the sales.

Will said it was unclear exactly how long the thefts had been going on, but the indictments indicate that it dated at least back to August 2008. The majority of the thefts, Will said, appear to have taken place in the aftermath of the Feb. 18, 2009, fire at the college that caused more than $8.4 million in damage.

Investigators believe the fire was deliberately set in tunnels running underneath the school by Drew Manns, who was released from prison earlier this year after serving time on unrelated charges. Will said the investigation into the fire is ongoing and Manns has not been charged in the case.

School officials have previously said that they discovered discrepancies between a December 2009 audit of books and one that was conducted in April 2010. The first audit listed the value of the damaged books at $100,953, while the second audit showed the value as being $52,447, according to copies of the documents provided to The Chronicle-Telegram last year.

“LCCC proactively went to the police and prosecutors to investigate the discrepancies found in an inventory audit during the spring semester of 2010,” college spokesman Steve Sefchik said Thursday. “The college fully cooperated with investigators and appreciates the efforts of our local law enforcement agencies in this matter.”

Farrell, who was placed on leave in May 2010, could not be reached for comment Thursday, but said in 2010 that she had done nothing wrong. She said that fire-damaged books were marked with a red dot, removed from the bookstore’s shelves and placed in storage.

Many of the books were cleaned and returned to the shelves, sent back to publishers or sold off, Farrell said last year. She also said the books were moved a few times and were sometimes kept in an area that wasn’t particularly secure. People could have easily taken the books or they could have been mixed up by college students who handled the bookstore’s inventory, she said at the time.

“In that crazy period of time, we didn’t do a very good job of keeping track of the inventory,” Farrell said last year.

Both Farrell and McElravy are free on bond, and Will said the investigation into the missing books is continuing.