A Chicopee police chief candidate began receiving threats in November 2021 meant to force them to rescind their application for the position, according to a Justice Department press release.

Phone and internet records allegedly showed that Lynn M. Clark, the Chicopee Superintendent of Schools, was behind the messages. Clark had allegedly refuted sending the messages on several occasions but then later acknowledged that she did send them, according to the Justice Department.

It was not immediately clear why Clark, 51, allegedly targeted a police chief candidate with threats and later denied being behind the messages. The Justice Department said that she allegedly sent about 99 messages in total through fake numbers that she purchased in a mobile app.

The complaint against Clark says that the police chief candidate received several text messages from unknown phone numbers in November after submitting their application for the position. The messages threatened to release information that would harm the candidate’s reputation. The candidate ended up withdrawing their application as a result.

This caused a delay in the selection process for the city’s new chief of police, the release said.

Law enforcement received a report on December 3, 2021, that the candidate had been receiving threatening messages. The phone numbers were linked back to Clark who “allegedly denied sending the messages on numerous occasions to investigators and cast suspicion onto other individuals,” according to the release.

“Specifically, over the course of the investigation, Clark allegedly suggested that the messages could have been sent by other City employees, the victim’s colleagues and a member of Clark’s own family. Clark later admitted that she indeed sent the messages,” the release said.

Clark is facing one count of making false statements and will make her first federal court appearance later Wednesday in Springfield, Massachusetts. If convicted, she could face up to five years in federal prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of as much as $10,000.

The release did not identify the candidate allegedly targeted in the messages.

A new police chief for Chicopee still has not been selected. The two remaining candidates were Chicopee police captains Patrick Major and Jeffrey Gawron, MassLive.com reported Sunday.

Two other candidates, Donald Strange and Patrick Henry, were also previously under consideration for the role. Strange withdrew early in the process, but the police chief search was temporarily halted in January after Henry dropped out, MassLive.com reported.

Newsweek reached out to Chicopee Public Schools for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

Update 4/6/22, 1:15 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information and background.