A former paralegal with a Chicago law firm has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $600,000 in a decades-long embezzling scheme.

Becky Louise Sutton, formerly of Forest Park, pleaded guilty Dec. 14 to a federal fraud charge of embezzling funds from bankruptcy estate accounts from 2009 to 2018, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

She is facing up to 20 years in federal prison, officials said.

In a plea agreement, Sutton, 67, admitted to taking money from more than 40 bankruptcy estate accounts and several liquidating trust accounts, state officials said. Sutton admitted to orchestrating fraudulent transfers of bankruptcy funds from fiduciary bank accounts intended for creditors to accounts she controlled, including her personal bank account, credit card account, student loan account and mortgage account. 

Sutton, now of Austin, Texas, will appear in court for sentencing April 2.