Mannford woman pleads guilty to FEMA fraud

(TULSA) - A Mannford woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to scamming more than $31,000 from the government in federal disaster payments.

Prosecutors say 42-year-old Kerry Lynn Rowell appeared in U.S. District Court in Tulsa on Friday.

Rowell admitted receiving about $31,400 from the Federal Emergency Disaster Agency in money that was available to victims of wildfires in the Mannford area in 2013.

Prosecutors say Rowell claimed that a home destroyed by the fire was her primary residence - but that the home was unoccupied, dilapidated and had no utility service at the time of the fire.

Rowell faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

She's scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 12.