ST. LOUIS -- A former controller at a suburban St. Louis company has been ordered to spend 2 1/2 years in federal prison for her scheme to steal more than $1.2 million from the business.

Kelley Baratta, 38, now of Auburn, New York, had pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Authorities say between 2007 and early 2012, Baratta was controller of Media Management Inc. of Chesterfield, Missouri.

She was responsible for payroll, accounts payable and receivable and certain human-resource matters. Investigators say between 2009 and 2012, she embezzled by falsifying her salary in a computer-based payroll system to cause the system to pay her an inflated salary.