BEAUFORT, N.C. -- The former director of the Carteret County Humane Society and Animal Shelter has been sentenced to five to seven years in prison as part of a plea deal for embezzlement.

Candace Christopherson, who served as director from 2005 to 2016, was sentenced last week for using the shelter's credit card for personal and unnecessary purchases totaling more than $67,000 between 2014 and 2016.

Investigators also found that more than $44,000 hadn't been deposited in the shelter's bank account between January 2015 and September 2016.

Christopherson must also pay back $111,850 in restitution.