A repeat offender from Caldwell received up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of insurance fraud.

Martha Patricia Feely, sentenced last week in 4th District Court, was already on felony probation in a California insurance fraud case in 2009 when she submitted forged performance bond documents to three southwestern Idaho government agencies.

Performance bonds are necessary to bid on public jobs and ensure a contractor will fulfill its obligations.

Such bonds also ensure subcontractors and suppliers will be paid.

Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said Friday Feely's duplicitousness violates a system where companies usually work ethically to ensure fairness on public works jobs.

When one person breaks the rules, he said, it puts honest business owners at a disadvantage.