The former director of the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation was sentenced Tuesday in Boise to 10 months in prison for theft of federal funds from the foundation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Kyle Prior, 38, of Caldwell, was also ordered to pay $36,485 in restitution.

At a plea hearing Jan. 3, Prior admitted that between Sept. 16, 2008, and July 28, 2009, while acting as director of the foundation, he used a foundation debit card to make purchases for his personal use.

According to court documents, after Prior's employment was terminated, an audit and subsequent investigation found that he made numerous inappropriate transactions. In 2010, during an interview with a federal investigator, Prior admitted using foundation funds for his personal use.

The Upper Snake River Tribes is a non-profit that was created to protect tribal heritage related to fish, wildlife and other natural resources. The organization was led by a commission consisting of a tribal member from each of the Shoshone-Paiute, Shoshone-Bannock, Paiute-Shoshone, and the Burns-Paiute of Oregon tribes.