A former insurance agent from Sacramento, Calif., was sentenced to 13 years and four months in state prison for her role in an investment scheme to gain money for gambling at a local casino almost every day.

Maria Elna Flora, 59, pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree burglary and 11 counts of grand theft, receiving the prison sentence and an order to pay $434,279 in restitution to her victims, according to the California Department of Insurance.

From January 2005 through August 2007, Flora convinced at least 12 individuals in seven California counties to invest between $5,000 and $88,000 with her. Flora encouraged her clients to shift their savings into short-term investments with promised returns ranging from 10% to 20%.

She told victims that their funds would be used to make real estate loans to investors who would pay high interest rates, but in most cases, according to the department, Flora made only a few interest payments to investors. Flora allegedly promised to pay them at a later date, but never did.

Department investigators discovered that she used the money from her clients for an expensive gambling habit. From January 2005 to August 2007, Flora spent the money on slots almost every day at Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, Calif.