DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former federal union official has been sentenced to three years of probation, including six months of being confined to her home, for embezzling $33,000. U.S. District Judge John Jarvey issued the sentence Wednesday to Ann Kelly, the former treasurer-secretary of the American Federation of Government Employees in Council Bluffs. The retired federal railroad inspector had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for using union funds between 2002 and 2007 to make payments to personal credit cards and write checks to family members.

Kelly had asked Jarvey to show leniency and let her avoid prison. She had argued the theft was motivated to help her family out of a series of financial crises and that she’d already cashed out her retirement savings to pay the money back.