PROVIDENCE — An East Greenwich woman who convinced close friends and family to invest millions of dollars in what authorities cast as a Ponzi-like real-estate scheme admitted to her crimes Thursday in federal court.

Monique Brady, 44, of 15 Lenihan Lane, pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and obstructing an IRS investigation under a plea agreement reached late last month with federal prosecutors.

Brady will serve at least two years in prison as a result of her plea to aggravated identity theft.

Wearing an orange prison uniform, the slight Brady appeared before U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr. as her estranged husband, Warwick Fire Department Capt. Thomas Brady, observed. Monique Brady waved at Thomas Brady as she entered the courtroom.

She faces a mandatory two years in prison, and up to 25 at her sentencing Oct. 17.

"Yes," Brady said, matter-of-factly, when asked by McConnell if she agreed to the facts presented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee H. Vilker.

A grand jury on May 16 indicted Brady in a scheme that authorities said spanned 2014 through 2018 and ensnared close family friends, her stepbrother, a former nanny, a man with Alzheimer’s disease, firefighters, and business associates from coast to coast.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond ordered her held amid allegations that she attempted to flee prosecution by purchasing a one-way flight to Vietnam with her divorce lawyer and paramour, Kevin D. Heitke. Two days before her arrest, she served her husband of 21 years with divorce papers.

Federal prosecutors and court papers portray Brady as a woman who used her charm, apparent business savvy, and friendship to persuade 32 people, including a close law-school friend, and business entities to invest in her company, MNB LLC.

Under the scheme, she claimed to be overseeing major renovations on foreclosed properties under contracts with lenders, such as Freddie Mac. She promised investors that in return for their investments they would split the profits from the sale of those properties on top of getting a return on their money. Instead, they say, she was spending the money to gamble, pay the mortgage on the Bradys’ $1.1-million home, and take extravagant vacations.

The investors included a stepbrother in California; a West Warwick woman who lost money dedicated to future care for her paraplegic husband; a firefighter who worked with Thomas Brady; and a man managing his grandmother’s trust account, according to court records and Vilker’s account.

In total, Brady bilked 22 investors out of $4.7 million, Vilker said.

Brady's lawyer, Joanne Daley, indicated in court Thursday that she would challenging the specific amounts of some of the losses. Daley declined further comment.