BANGOR – A former MBNA employee was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to one month in jail for illegally charging more than $12,000 to a customer’s credit card.

Carol Lynn Stump, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., was living in Troy and working at MBNA in Belfast in 2004 when she used a Wisconsin woman’s credit card as if it were her own.

Stump, who has no criminal record, acted out of financial desperation, her Bangor attorney, Wayne Foote, told the court. After transferring more than $6,500 from other cards to the MBNA card, she used it to make cash withdrawals to pay for “essentials,” car insurance and a satellite television service, he said.

At the time of the theft, Stump was caring for her seriously ill in-laws and her husband, who was unable to work. She also was forced to take a leave of absence to undergo surgery. Now living in Arizona, Stump works full time and cares for her ailing mother and husband, who has a chronic condition that requires special care. She also volunteers one day a week at a food pantry.

Stump faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, her recommended sentence was between zero and six months in prison and a fine between $1,000 and $10,000.

She also faced being ordered to pay restitution, but before her sentencing, Stump repaid the company, now owned by Bank of America, the more than $12,415 that she admitted charging illegally.

Foote urged the judge not to sentence Stump to jail time. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Moore recommended the 30-day sentence.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said in imposing the monthlong sentence that he had to order some jail time to deter others from committing similar crimes.

“Ultimately, Ms. Stump, I can’t sentence you for who you are,” Woodcock said. “My job is to sentence you for what you did.”

The judge ordered her to report Monday to the Piscataquis County Jail in Dover-Foxcroft to begin serving her sentence.