Former Freeborn County Commissioner Linda Tuttle is slated to be sentenced Aug. 23 in federal court in Minneapolis after she pleaded guilty in April to one felony charge of wire fraud.

U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty is slated to conduct the sentencing, which is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.

Tuttle, who resigned as commissioner on Aug. 1, 2010, amid allegations, admitted in April to taking funds from escrow accounts at her business, Albert Lea Abstract, and diverting them to her own purposes.

The police investigation said she spent the money — about $1 million — to support a gambling addiction.

The guilty plea came as part of an agreement between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Tuttle’s lawyer, Kevin O’Connor Green, though Green and the prosecution disagreed on how much she spent.

Under the plea agreement, Tuttle cannot withdraw her plea and cannot appeal. She surrendered the right to a trial by jury of her peers, the right to a speedy trial and the right to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Wire fraud is devising a scheme to obtain funds with false premises using an electronic communication. Doing it over state lines makes it a federal crime.

In previous interviews, Green stated Tuttle has since taken gambling-addiction treatment at Project Turnabout in Granite Falls.

He also noted that his client’s use of prescription drugs to treat restless-legs syndrome played a factor in Tuttle’s actions. The prescriptions have a side effect of compulsive behavior.

Nancy Brasel with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in April that Tuttle may face 51 to 78 months in prison. She also mentioned supervised release with a fine.