A 58-year-old Bridgeport woman who was formerly employed at the Mark Twain House was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison because of a fraud scheme in which she embezzled over $1 million.

The woman, a long-time employee of the home and museum, pleaded guilty in August to wire fraud and filing a false tax return and admitted that she tampered with the accounting books to steal money from the business, which had been going through financial troubles.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the woman embezzled $1,080,811 from the Mark Twain House in Hartford between 2002 and 2010, and used the proceeds for personal expenses.

Between 2002 and 2010, the woman submitted false information via the internet to the museum's payroll vendor. That misinformation lead to addition money being deposited in her bank account and classified as payroll advances. In order to cover up the advances, the woman reclassified the transfers and utilities, maintenance and other such items. She also falsified the museum's bank statements in cover up the advances.

Sources said the woman also used the museum's check-writing system to write checks to herself, and then forged her supervisor's signature. Her scheme was discovered by a bank employee who called the signatures into question.

While the woman faced up to 23 years in prison and a fine of as much as $2 million, she was ordered to pay restitution and taxes on the stolen funds. She will also be under supervised release for three years after her release from prison.

Source: Reuters, "Woman jailed for stealing $1 million from Mark Twain House," November 21, 2011.