A former office and finance administrator for the American Herbal Products Association was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison Monday for stealing more than $270,000 from the organization, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Monica Kendrick, 47, was hired by Silver Spring, Md.-based AHPA in 2014 and almost immediately began stealing money from the organization, the Justice Department said. During a period of about 18 months, Kendrick wrote more than 80 unauthorized checks from the association, then deposited them into a bank account from which she drew proceeds.

Kendrick pleaded guilty to the charges in June. She faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang instead sentenced her to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for wire fraud.

Chuang also ordered Kendrick pay restitution of $271,921, the total amount of loss resulting from the embezzlement scheme. http://bit.ly/2biCLMg

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