HALIFAX - A former Nova Scotia cabinet minister will plead guilty to fraud and breach of trust in the province's legislative spending scandal, his lawyer said Thursday.

Richard Hurlburt wants to take responsibility for his actions before his former constituents in Yarmouth, N.S., where he will enter his guilty pleas in April, defence lawyer Stan MacDonald said.

"He will face the court and tell the court he is responsible, and he'll face the people of Yarmouth and he'll tell them as well that he's responsible," MacDonald said outside the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Halifax.

In exchange, three charges of uttering forged documents will be dropped, MacDonald said.

Outside court, Crown lawyer Andrew Macdonald said Hurlburt's actions relate to the submission of claims for expenses he didn't incur, though he didn't elaborate.

Hurlburt, who did not appear in court Thursday, was charged by the RCMP after provincial auditor general Jacques Lapointe investigated constituency fund spending by politicians from July 2006 to June 2009.

The former Tory cabinet minister abruptly quit a 10-year political career in February 2010 after Lapointe found he spent $7,995 in public money on a generator installed in his home.

He initially defended the purchase as a valid expense, saying it could be used in emergencies by a nearby seniors' home and for ground search and rescue teams. He later apologized and said he had reimbursed taxpayers.

The Speaker's Office also released a list of questionable expenses that same month that showed Hurlburt also charged taxpayers $2,499 for a 40-inch television and $579 for installing it.

Hurlburt, 61, was considered a key member of the government of former premier John Hamm. First elected in 1999, he was re-elected in 2003 and 2006 and served as the natural resources and energy minister.

He is scheduled to enter his pleas April 12.

He is one of four politicians charged in the spending scandal, three of whom have resigned.

Last September, former Liberal Dave Wilson pleaded guilty to uttering forged documents and one count each of fraud and breach of trust. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 30.

Last month, former Liberal Russell MacKinnon was committed to stand trial on charges of fraud, breach of trust and uttering forged documents. He is to return to court March 15.

Trevor Zinck, a former NDP member who now sits as an Independent, has been charged with fraud over $5,000, breach of trust and two counts of theft over $5,000. A preliminary hearing for his case is set to begin June 11.