A employee at the Denver Newspaper Agency was sentenced Monday for stealing more than $270,000 from the company over the course of four years.

Cassandra D. Demery, 33, had been charged with theft, forgery, criminal impersonation and committing a computer crime. She pleaded guilty earlier in April to one count of theft.

Demery was given 10 years probation with a 90 day sentence in the Denver County Jail and was ordered to pay $275,811 in restitution.

Demery was the former assistant payroll manager for the Denver Newspaper Agency from July 2001 to July 2007. Demery stole the money through a scheme in which she deposited payroll checks into a phony employee account.

She was fired from the company in July 2007 when the theft was discovered. She was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs Monday morning to begin serving her jail sentence.