TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – DPP Legislator Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) was charged Thursday with embezzling NT$14.12 million (US$463,000) in payments that should have been made to her aides.

As she admitted to the illegal behavior and had already paid back the sum, Tainan District Prosecutors Office asked the court for leniency, the Liberty Times reported. Lin embezzled funds in this way for 15 years starting in 2009, during her terms as a member of Tainan County Council, Tainan City Council, and the Legislative Yuan.

Lin submitted requests for funding based on fake lists of aides. Investigators found many people on the lists had never worked for her, with some of the wages ending up in her personal bank accounts.

Tainan prosecutors said the system of public payments for aides had been designed to give elected lawmakers more resources. Misuse of the funds gravely damaged the image of politics, prosecutors said.