PORTLAND — A former Saco travel agent has been sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison and six years of supervised released for mail and wire fraud and ordered to pay nearly $209,000 in restitution.

Beth Rogers, 46, of Portland, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Rogers owned and operated the former TravelWise Cruises & Tours on Main Street in Saco.

According to court documents, Rogers took money from more than 50 clients from late 2011 to mid 2012, and used the money these customers gave her to pay for the travel of other individuals who had booked travel through TravelWise.

Rogers often encouraged her clients to pay by check rather than credit card, telling them they would receive a discount, according to court records. Rogers took checks given to her by clients, deposited them into a bank account, and did not use them to purchase travel arrangements, according to court records. Court records indicate that Rogers took the account numbers of clients who had paid by credit card and used them to pay for other clients’ travel packages without permission.

Rogers often sent clients fake invoices claiming travel arrangements had been made, according to court documents.

Rogers works as a manager for a dress shop in Portland, and as a nanny, according to court documents. She also makes and sells hand bags, according to court documents.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.