A Westmoreland County woman will spend time on probation after pleading guilty to faking her husband’s death on Wednesday.
Lori Shawley, 54, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of forgery in common pleas court. She was sentenced to five years of probation, including a year of house arrest.
Shawley was charged in September after trying to deceive a North-Carolina-based business into giving her a refund for building a carport, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office says.
Detectives reportedly contacted the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office after the business expressed concern about a fake death certificate.
Shawley had hired the business in July 2025 to build a $14,800 carport on her property, officials say. The project required a $2,790 deposit.
A month later, Shawley told the business that her husband had died unexpectedly, officials say. Shawley wanted to cancel the project and asked for her deposit back to pay for the funeral.
Shawley provided a death certificate, but the business determined it was computer-generated, officials say.
Later, detectives reportedly spoke with Shawley’s husband, verifying that he was still alive.
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