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A former Collier County tax worker who embezzled more than $200,000, allegedly to pay for an operation for her child, suffered a panic attack in court this week as she pleaded no contest to all charges against her.

Kimberly Dunsmore, 38, of 2681 Sixth Ave. S.E., Golden Gate Estates, went pale and fanned herself, widening her eyes, indicating to defense attorney Robert Harris that she was about to faint. She sat down, bowed her head, then leaned back and began quickly fanning herself with her hands, sighing deeply as a deputy handed her a cup of water.

Just feet away, her husband, David, leaned forward, concerned. He whispered to a deputy, who then gave her several sheets of paper to fan herself.

There was no plea bargain Monday for Dunsmore, who worked about 15 years for the county Tax Collector’s Office, because she entered what’s known as an “open plea.” That means the length of her sentence — anywhere from probation to several decades in a state prison — is in the hands of Collier Circuit Judge Elizabeth Krier, who set sentencing for July 6.

Dunsmore pleaded no contest to 33 counts of communication fraud of $300 or more, official misconduct, and scheming to defraud of $50,000 or more. The latter charge, a first-degree felony, is punishable by a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The others, third-degree felonies, are each punishable by up to five years in prison.

During the lengthy plea hearing, Assistant State Attorney Jerry Brock, who prosecutes cases for the supervisor of the Collier County Economic Crimes Unit, detailed the accusations Dunsmore was admitting to and the maximum she could face. The judge even pointed out she could face up to 30 years, plus five years multiplied by 34 — a total of 200 years in a state prison.

Harris said his client was entering the plea despite not having seen all the discovery against her — the witness’ statements, bank transactions, office computer transactions and other evidence. To copy all 8,000 pages, he said, would have cost thousands of dollars, so they just looked at 10 of the 100 transactions.

He said he’d argue for a downward departure from sentencing guidelines, which say she faces up to 26 months, because she will be able to immediately pay a large portion of her restitution.

“We already have $30,000 in a trust, your honor,” Harris said.

Dunsmore’s embezzlement, which occurred from February 2001 through July 19, 2005, while she worked alone in a satellite office in Naples City Hall, was caught by a supervisor who spotted a discrepancy and investigated further. The case was turned over to Detective Tom Muscato of the Economic Crimes Unit, who found Dunsmore defrauded the state by altering sales tax forms, using a loophole in Florida motor vehicle registration laws.

In Florida, vehicle ownership can be transferred to immediate family members who live in the same household without paying the usual registration fee. Dunsmore accepted registration fees and then altered forms on a computer to falsely show transfers were made between immediate family members.

For example, one computer transaction showed she accepted $145.60 from a customer, but three minutes later, she altered the computer to reflect a $45.60 transfer.

Evidence also showed Dunsmore started altering vehicle sales tax forms to show that the price paid for a vehicle was lower than it really was, which lowered the sales tax reported to the state. She kept the difference.

The total stolen was $212,000, an amount Dunsmore is responsible for paying as restitution, which also could include her salary for that period.

Dunsmore also is responsible for reimbursing the state for her $31,000 annual salary, Brock said, because she’s also accused of cheating the state out of an “honest salary” for that period, a time when she also left the office nearly daily to make deposits of $200 to $400. Brock said her time card reflected she was working at the time she was in the bank.

“She was a one-man office and that was what the problem was,” Brock said outside court, adding that it’s since been changed. “She did not realize how much money she had taken. She couldn’t believe it was as much as it was.”

When arrested and fired, Brock said, she claimed she was taking the money to pay for an operation for her child.

County property records also show she purchased her home in Golden Gate Estates under the name Kimberly Phillips-Dunsmore, for $479,900 in June 2005, during that time.

Harris and co-counsel Sawyer Smith declined comment on the case as they left court.