LAKE OF THE OZARKS -- A Lake Ozark woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $440,000 from her former employer.

Lorraine Jeanette Hess, 51, made the plea in federal court to charges of bank fraud and money laundering yesterday. She worked as a bookkeeper at SSL Enterprises from May 2006 to November 2007.

In court, Hess admitted that, during that time, she used unauthorized wire transfer and checks to transfer money from her employer's account to her personal account. She also admitted to charging personal expenses to the company's credit card account.

A pre-sentence investigation is underway. Hess faces up to 40 years in prison without parole.