A former D.C. Water and Sewer Authority employee pleaded guilty in a scheme to embezzle a quarter-million dollars from the utility by falsifying the payroll records of workers and steering money to accounts she and a friend controlled, according to court filings.

Sonia R. Coleman, 28, of Fort Washington, faces up to 10 years in prison but is expected to receive between 18 and 24 months, prosecutors said. Her sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 14.