St. Louis area woman sentenced for embezzlement

ST. LOUIS (AP) - A suburban St. Louis woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for embezzling nearly $161,000 from her employer.

The U.S. Attorney's office says 48-year-old Tammeria Patrick must also pay restitution under the sentence she received Wednesday in federal court.

The Florissant resident pleaded guilty in June to one felony count of wire fraud.

Patrick was the manager of payroll and accounts receivable for Urban Investigation Security in Ferguson. Prosecutors said that over an 18-month period starting in early 2008, Patrick wrote more than $157,000 company checks to herself. She also directed the payment of more than $3,000 in health insurance premiums for an employee who didn't qualify for the benefits.

Prosecutors said Patrick used the embezzled funds for personal expenses, including car payments and credit card bills.