LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A Carlsbad woman has changed her plea to guilty in an $800,000 embezzlement scheme.
Prosecutors say 54-year-old Lori Whitaker pleaded guilty Wednesday to a wire fraud charge.
She had pleaded not guilty to the charge two months ago.
Prosecutors say Whitaker must pay more than $816,000 in restitution to her former employer and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison when sentenced.
Whitaker was an office manager for the Otis Mutual Domestic Water Consumers and Sewage Works Association.
The non-profit association provides potable water and a wastewater system to more than 4,300 people in Otis, New Mexico.
Whitaker allegedly transmitted funds between March 2015 and February 2017 as part of a scheme to defraud the association.
Prosecutors say the 75 wired transactions ranged from $416 to nearly $16,000.
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