EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A judge in East St. Louis has sentenced a 54-year-old man to a year and a day in federal prison for defrauding $99,000 from a southwestern Illinois automobile dealership group while he worked as its finance manager.

Robert Garcia of Maryland Heights, Mo., pleaded guilty in April. Prosecutors say Garcia handled payment transactions when customers bought used cars while he worked for Auffenberg Dealer Group Inc. of O'Fallon.

The indictment alleged that Garcia misappropriated Auffenberg funds from vehicle sales and used funds from future sales to make up the shortages of prior sales.