Ex-Honduras first lady gets 58 years in corruption case

In this Aug. 20, 2019 photo, former Honduran first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo leaves court after her conviction on corruption charges in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The court convicted the former first lady on Tuesday of embezzling about $600,000 in government money between 2010 and 2014, when her husband Porfirio Lobo was president. Bonilla's sentence will be announced Aug. 28 and could run between 58 and 87 years in prison. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez)

In this Aug. 20, 2019 photo, former Honduran first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo leaves court after her conviction on corruption charges in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The court convicted the former first lady on Tuesday of embezzling about $600,000 in government money between 2010 and 2014, when her husband Porfirio Lobo was president. Bonilla's sentence will be announced Aug. 28 and could run between 58 and 87 years in prison. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez)

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — A Honduran court has sentenced former first lady Rosa Elena Bonilla to 58 years in prison for embezzling about $600,000 in government money between 2010 and 2014, when her husband Porfirio Lobo was president.

Bonilla’s sentence for embezzlement and fraud was at the high end of the possible sentencing range.

The case was originally brought by the Organization of American States’ anti-corruption mission.

Investigators for the nongovernmental National Anticorruption Council have told prosecutors that Bonilla deposited $600,000 in government funds into her personal bank account five days before Lobo ended his four-year term in January 2014.

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Prosecutors said she used the money to buy jewelry and pay credit cards.

The Supreme Court said Wednesday Bonilla will also have to pay back about 10% of the money, or about $52,000.