A former State Department budget analyst has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $650,000 from the agency over a two-year span, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.

Levita Almuete Ferrer, 64, of Maryland, admitted to abusing her signature authority over a State Department checking account between March 2022 and April 2024 in her capacity as a senior budget analyst in the department’s Office of the Chief of Protocol.

She wrote 60 checks to herself and three checks to someone else she had a personal relationship with, prosecutors said. She printed and signed each check before depositing all 63 checks into her personal bank accounts.

Levita Almuete Ferrer, 64, admitted to abusing her signature authority over a State Department checking account between March 2022 and April 2024. (Celal Gunes / Anadolu Agency)

Ferrer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to theft of government property and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 18. She could face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

As part of her plea agreement, Ferrer agreed to pay the stolen amount in restitution to the U.S. government and be liable for a forfeiture money judgment in that same amount.