A former MSU extension services official pleaded guilty to defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture of $400,000 on Tuesday in a Florida District Court, court documents stated.

This allows Emma O. Brooks to take part in a plea agreement that could land her less prison time.

According to the documents obtained from a federal prosecutor's office, Brooks and two other people fraudulently applied for eight USDA settlement payments in the amount of $50,000 each between 1999 and 2001.

The payments were intended for farmers who are black who were denied previous loans because they were discriminated against, according to the documents.

In December 1999, Brooks and a partner took a road trip to Arkansas to learn how to file fictitious claims, court documents stated.

Brooks and her co-conspirators filed for the settlement payments under a variety of different names.

Each settlement under a different alias counts against Brooks in court, the documents stated.

Wade Rolle, Brooks' defense attorney, did not return calls for comment.

A judge at the district court has not accepted Brooks' guilty plea, an official from the district court said.

A change of plea hearing was scheduled to give all parties involved a chance to file their objections, the court official said.

If a judge accepts Brooks' guilty plea, she could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, in addition to paying back the $400,000, a plea agreement signed on Tuesday stated.

MSU Spokesman Terry Denbow said Brooks hasn't worked for the university since May, adding that he didn't know what kind of work she did.

"It's a personnel matter, that is all I can say," he said. "It was handled at the appropriate level."

Kris Turner can be reached at turne112@msu.edu.