A former administrator at a Twin Cities college accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school to the alleged benefit of her boyfriend pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

Former dean of nursing at St. Catherine University, Laura Fero, submitted a guilty plea petition for one count of theft by swindle. If the deal is accepted, five other counts of the same charge will be dropped.

Fero could be sentenced to up to three years of probation and be ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution.

A jury found Fero's boyfriend, Juan Bruce, not guilty on six counts of theft by swindle last year. 

Charges say Fero used her position to pay Bruce's company more than $400,000 for services that were not completed, and that the couple allegedly used the money embezzled from St. Kate's to take multiple trips together from 2021 through 2023.

The university also claims Fero spent more than $26,000 on her university-provided procurement card that was "not legitimate" or of "questionable legitimacy," paying for airfare, rental cars, hotels and airport parking during her travel with Bruce.

Fero's sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.