BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Tennessee woman has been sentenced in Baton Rouge to 37 months in federal prison after admitting she embezzled over $491,000 in retirement and medical benefits for laborers in Louisiana and four other states.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/pbdldu ) U.S. District Judge James J. Brady on Thursday also ordered 46-year-old Theresa G. Waters of Nashville to pay full restitution to an insurer for the South Central Laborers Training and Apprenticeship Fund in Livonia. La. Waters worked for five years for the organization.

"Where did this money go?" Brady asked Waters.

"Living expenses and health issues," Waters replied. "I was in bankruptcy the entire time."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan A. Stevens noted, however, that a random check of three months of Waters' purchases between December 2004 and November 2008 showed $600 spent on jewelry, $1,600 for appliances and $1,800 for clothing.

"This money wasn't being spent just to put food on the table and (cover) medical expenses," Stevens told the judge.

The South Central fund manages benefit money for laborers working for union contractors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, Waters' indictment states.

Michael A. Fiser, Waters' court-appointed attorney, asked that she be sentenced to probation rather than prison.

Fiser said sentencing guidelines unfairly increase penalties for embezzlers who use "sophisticated means" to commit their crimes.

Brady ordered Waters to report to federal prison on Nov. 21.