A Derry Township woman’s widowhood was only to last just long enough for her refund check to be cashed.
Lori Shawley, 54, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two felony counts of forgery in connection to allegations she faked her husband’s death. Prosecutors said it was part of a scam designed to terminate a contract with a construction company she hired to build a garage at her home.
Police said Shawley’s husband was not dead.
The faked document was created as part of a scam designed to convince a North Carolina-based construction company to refund her down payment before work could begin on the new garage, investigators claimed.
According to court records, Shawley in August forged signatures of the Westmoreland County coroner and his chief deputy on her husband’s fake death certificate. That document included information that he died of “disease of the digestive system.”
Police said Shawley in July signed a contract with Viking Steel Structures, a North Carolina-based contractor, to build a garage for $14,800. As part of the deal, Shawley made a $2,800 down payment that she later asked to be refunded to help pay for her husband’s funeral expenses, investigators claimed.
According to court records, the company officials claimed they initially told Shawley her down payment would not be refunded if the order was canceled, but later agreed to consider her request after she forwarded them a copy of the death certificate.
Police said Shawley’s refund claim ultimately was denied.
Shawley, who was accompanied in court by her husband, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Judge Michael Stewart II to serve five years on probation, the first year of which she will spend on house arrest. The judge said the sentence could be reduced by two years if Shawley does not violate terms of her probation.
Defense attorney Mike Ferguson declined to comment and said Shawley would not speak about her case.