A former Mississippi food stamp fraud investigator has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate on Tuesday sentenced 52-year-old Frank Saddler of Ridgeland to 39 months in federal prison after Saddler pleaded guilty to one count of extortion.

Saddler was a Mississippi Department of Human Services branch director, investigating criminal violations of rules of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The state administers the federal program.

Saddler admits extorting money from convenience store owners charged with criminal violations from July 2014 to June 2015.

Saddler would tell owners they were paying restitution to the state when he was actually pocketing the money.

Wingate is ordering Saddler to pay more than $28,000 in restitution to victims and to serve three years of supervised release.