BANGOR (AP) – A federal judge is sending a Harrington woman to prison for 14 months for visa fraud and conspiring to hire illegal aliens in 2005 and 2006 to work in eastern Maine businesses.

Doris Amanda Ayala Escalante was sentenced Tuesday in Bangor by U.S. District Judge John Woodcock.

The 38-year-old Escalante admitted hiring at least 10 illegal aliens to work at a Lubec sea cucumber processing plant and at a Harrington restaurant she operated.

In addition to the 14-month sentence, she faces three years of supervised release.

Woodcock cited years of emotional and physical abuse in ordering a sentence that’s shorter than the recommended minimum in federal guidelines.