A former Schuylkill County Conservation District employee has pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzling $452,186 between 2007 and 2014.

Virginia G. Kunigonis, 54, of Pottsville, will be sentenced at a later date.The plea, before U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell, was announced Thursday by the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.Kunigonis was charged Sept. 24 with one count of theft from programs receiving federal money.Prosecutors say Kunigonis worked for the Conservation District from 2007 to 2014.During that time, she's accused of forging 437 conservation district checks totaling $410,435 and of using a district credit card to pay $41,751 in personal expenses.As part of her plea agreement, prosecutors say Kunigonis has agreed to make restitution and to forfeit all of her interests in her home and her county retirement account to the government.Prosecutors say Kunigonis worked for the conservation district from 2007 to 2014.During that time, she's accused of forging 437 conservation district checks totaling $410,435 and of using a district credit card to pay $41,751 in personal expenses.According to a criminal complaint, Kunigonis admitted to state trooper Bernard J. Walasavage of the Schuylkill Haven barracks that she had taken the money to take trips to Disney, and for timeshare trips for herself and friends.The agency is funded by state and federal grant money, and by the county.Kunigonis told police she used money from the grant accounts and not money from the county because she would have been more easily caught.County Controller Christy D. Joy in June 2014 became aware of problems after examining the agency's 2012 financial records, prompting state police at Schuylkill Haven to launch an investigation.The county turned over the investigation to federal prosecutors in March.Kunigonis began working as an administrative assistant for the Schuylkill County Conservation District in approximately 2002. Before that she worked in various capacities for Schuylkill County since 1986. In April 2012, she was reclassified from administrative secretary to conservation fiscal technician, and her salary set at $19 per hour.