SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — A western Nebraska woman has pleaded no contest to embezzling thousands of dollars from state wards.

Seventy-one-year-old Judy Widener of Bayard took a plea deal on Wednesday. She has agreed to pay more than $25,000 in restitution for thefts that occurred from 2011-2013 while she was serving as the director of Safe Haven in Gering.

Widener was accused of taking funds meant for wards of the court and directing them into her own business accounts to pay for personal costs.

Her nine charges were re-filed into a single aggregate charge of theft as part of the deal.

Widener is scheduled for sentencing in October. As part of the agreement, she could still be sentenced up to 20 years in prison.