The 54-year-old man and a partner embezzled the money over a period of eight years.

BOSTON — The former president and the executive director of a company that guides large ships through Boston Harbor are free on their own recognizance, accused of embezzling at least $180,000 over eight years.

Gregg Farmer, 55, of Wakefield, and Andrew Hammond, 54, of Hanover, were arraigned in Suffolk County District Court on Tuesday, charged with using their leadership roles within the Boston Harbor Pilots Association to pay for personal expenses with organization money, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

Farmer served as the president of the association, whose members have the detailed knowledge of local waterways necessary to guide tankers and other large vessels entering Boston Harbor, from 2003 until his scheme with Hammond was uncovered by other members of the nine-person board in 2016 while he was out for an injury. Farmer named Hammond the executive director in 2006, a new position created at his recommendation.

Authorities say the  pair bought fuel and paid repair bills for personal vehicles, electronics, personal taxes, and other purchases and that Hammond, who also served as bookkeeper, then doctored the books. In one purchase, Farmer is accused of paying for two captain’s chairs using association  funds and then installed them on his own vessel.

Hammond also added his family members as well as Farmer's children, Farmer's ex-girlfriend and her son to the association's Verizon wireless account. Other Boston Harbor Pilots members were alerted to the scheme when a Verizon customer service representative called asking about upgrades for the line's numerous phones.

A Suffolk Country grand jury indicted the pair after a  forensic accounting investigation by the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit suggested that the losses to BHPA ran to more than $180,000, prosecutors said.

The grand jury indicted the pair on Dec. 20, charging Farmer with larceny over $250 and larceny over $250 by continuing scheme. Hammond is charged with larceny over $250 by scheme, making false entries in corporate books, forgery, and uttering.

Both men will return to court on March 20 for a pretrial conference. Their trial is scheduled for Oct. 29.