TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas woman who said she embezzled from the credit union where she worked to save the family farm has been sentenced to three years in prison.

The U.S. attorney's office says 48-year-old Pamela Emig, of Solomon, must also pay $817,000 in restitution under the sentence she received Monday.

Emig pleaded guilty in November to one count of embezzling from Enterprise Credit Union, in Enterprise, between 2005 and 2011. She was a manager and kited checks between accounts under her control to cover up the thefts.

Defense attorney Christopher Joseph says in a filing that Emig was a conscientious employee for nearly 30 years until desperation influenced her "aberrant actions."

The thefts began when she and her husband filed for bankruptcy and had no money to feed their cattle.