A former National Institutes of Health employee was ordered yesterday to serve 45 days in prison for putting more than $24,000 in personal expenses on her government-issued credit card.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte in Greenbelt sentenced Charrisse Fairfax Brown, 48, of Washington to prison followed by three years of supervised release for theft of government property. The judge also ordered Brown to pay restitution of $24,221.56 by Nov. 9.

According to her plea agreement, Brown was given an NIH commercial credit card to purchase approved supplies and services. But between November 2004 and September 2006, she used the card to buy $24,221.56 in items for her personal use, including a laptop computer, shoes, clothes, Direct TV service, jewelry and furniture.