A Forked River woman who served as bookkeeper for a law firm in Ocean County was sentenced to 21 months for defrauding her former employer by stealing more than $500,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.

Sharon Wetter, 53, of Forked River previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper in May. She was charged with one count of mail fraud. Wetter’s 21-month sentence was served in Trenton federal court on Jan. 4.

In addition to the prison term, Wetter was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered her to make restitution in the amount of $521,596.

From 2004 to October 2010, Wetter used her position as bookkeeper at an unnamed Ocean County law firm to defraud its principals of more than $500,000, which she used to pay off her personal credit cards, according to a federal Information signed by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Wetter wrote checks from the bank accounts of the firm and entities associated with the firm and then altered "the books and records of the law firm and entities associated with the law firm to make it appear that the payments were legitimate business expenses," according to Fishman's filed Information.

Wetter used the U.S. mail to send the checks, Fishman wrote, and utilized the funds to pay down her own bills, diverting more than $500,000.