A Temecula bookkeeper accused of embezzling $1.6 million from the Oceanside dental office where she had worked pleaded guilty Monday to theft, a prosecutor said.

Victoria "Vicki" Lee Wafford, 50, agreed to plead guilty to one count of grand theft by an employee and an additional allegation that she stole more than $500,000, Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn said Monday.

In exchange, Wafford will be given eight years in prison when she is formally sentenced Nov. 4.

Wafford's attorney said prescription drug addiction was to blame for her actions; the victim, dentist James Hargas, said he believes the motivation was gambling at casinos.

The former bookkeeper had faced 60 counts related to embezzlement, theft and prescription drug fraud.

Had she gone to trial and been convicted on all counts, Wafford could have been looking at a sentence of nearly 48 years, Winn said.

Wafford was accused of writing more than 1,000 checks from her employer's account to herself and credit card companies from 2001 to 2008.

In the accounting books, however, Wafford had listed the payees as dental suppliers and other vendors, according to a document Winn filed with the court in February.

Hargas said Monday that he had to borrow against his personal assets three times to make payroll and vendor payments as the number of thefts increased.

"And she knew I was using my personal credit while she wrote herself more checks," Hargas said.

Wafford started working for him in 1992.

The quality of patient care was never affected by Wafford's theft or his financial concerns, he said.

Protecting patient care "is why I went into personal debt," Hargas said.

Prosecutors accused Wafford of forging Hargas' name with a rubber stamp or similar device.

"I thought I was looking at my QuickBooks and journals and signing every check," Hargas said, "but she had her own check supply and rubber stamp."

The theft came to light in the summer of 2008, the dentist said, when he launched an extensive audit of the books to get personal loans to cover business expenses.

He said Wafford had been giving cooked books to his accountant.

"All small-business owners have to be wary," Hargas said. "I had checks and balances, but this came from my devoted bookkeeper through manipulation of checks."

Hargas said authorities told him the woman had gambled away much of the money at casinos.

Wafford's attorney said his client's theft was motivated by an addiction to prescription drugs.

"She's been addicted for years," Vista defense attorney Herb Weston said. "There was an injury that started it off, and it just grew out of control."

According to court documents, Wafford was accused of going to a number of pharmacies with falsified prescriptions for hydrocodone, a narcotic used to treat pain.

Her guilty plea does not include any admissions regarding the alleged prescription fraud.

Call staff writer Teri Figueroa at 760-740-5442.