ARMSTRONG COUNTY, Pa. — A local woman has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $110,000 after she burned her own home in an insurance collection scheme.
Emmajean Mowery, 65, of Armstrong County, has been sentenced to up to three years in prison for committing arson and insurance fraud. Prosecutors say Mowery intentionally set her rental home in Rayburn Township on fire in 2023.
“This greedy, self-serving plot was an attempt to defraud an insurance company while putting emergency responders, neighbors and other occupants of the home at grave risk,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General Sunday. “I commend our Insurance Fraud Section for successfully prosecuting this defendant’s latest criminal scheme to avoid accountability for her prior crimes. Fraudulent insurance claims impact law-abiding citizens by causing insurance companies to raise rates.”
Investigators found that Mowery committed the crimes to receive a payout to help cover a previous court-ordered restitution sum for burning a previous home.
At the time of the 2023 fire, Mowery still owed around $57,000 in restitution from her prior conviction.
Mowery had increased her insurance policy weeks before the fire and failed to disclose a prior insurance fraud conviction on her application.
The investigation was initiated after the insurance company suspected the fire was intentionally set.
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