An Iowa woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison in connection with a scheme to defraud and get money from her Albert Lea employer.

Amy Lynn Malakowsky, 37, of Northwood, Iowa, pleaded guilty in October to mail fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Paul. She was back in court Friday for sentencing.

Judge Donovan Frank ordered Malakowsky to serve 27 months in prison, then be on three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

According to the plea agreement, Malakowsky knowingly and intentionally devised and executed a scheme to defraud Albert Lea-based DIMA Corp. in order to get money. She admitted that from January 2003 through November 2007, she used $359,673 of the company’s funds to pay personal credit card bills and made false entries on the company’s books and records to conceal her misappropriation of funds.

Her lawyer, Lawrence Maus of Rochester, argued that she should not get more than a 12-month prison sentence. He contended that she was not an accountant, but a secretary to the CEO of the company and also acted as office manager. He said that her role did include access to the corporation’s checkbook and her duties included writing and signing disbursement checks for the corporation. Her job included handling the payroll, managing some portions of the insurance and paying company credit card bills and invoices.

But, Maus said, there was no degree of sophistication or skill implemented by her in her embezzlement method. She didn’t employ a scheme for double accounting or other ingenious plans to work her fraud, Maus argued in a sentencing position paper. He said that to the contrary, “she simply paid her own personal credit card debt without corporate permission.” Once paid, he said, Malakowsky would post the expense to a corporate expense ledger sheet. It was a simple method and was subject to monthly supervision and review by corporate accountants.

He said the prosecution failed to meet the standard to enhance her sentence beyond 12 months.

Prosecutor Frank Magill Jr. contended that Malakowsky did occupy a position of trust and that her motion for a departure should be denied. He said that using her position to pay her personal credit card bills with corporate funds was an abuse of a position of private trust.

“She was given unfettered access to DIMA Corp.’s bank account,” he said. She didn’t need additional approval or a second signature to pay a credit card bill.