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GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) A 54-year-old Browning woman has been sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $48,000 in restitution for embezzling money from the Blackfeet Care Center.

Judy L. Racine pleaded guilty in May to theft from a local government receiving federal funds and to theft from a health care facility. She was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon.

Racine was the business office director for the Blackfeet Care Center, which received $725,350 in Medicaid funds from January 2007 to November 2007.

According to court documents, Racine deposited Medicaid checks into the center's banking account and got cash back for herself.

Prosecutors said she also wrote several Blackfeet Care Center checks to herself and used the center's debit card to withdraw money from ATMs and to pay for personal items and vacations.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 08-23-08 0958CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list