A Derry Township woman is facing forgery charges after she claimed her husband was dead to get a refund on a building project.
Westmoreland County authorities say 54-year-old Lori Shawley created a fake death certificate for her husband and forging the signatures of Coroner Tim Carson and a chief deputy. She reportedly wanted to get out of a $14,800 contract for a metal garage to be built at her house. On August 25th, she got a hold of the contractor and requested the 20% deposit of $2800 be returned to pay for her husband’s funeral after his unexpected death. The company representative said they needed a copy of the death certificate to process the refund.
Westmoreland County Detectives were contacted by the coroner’s office last week about the forgery, saying they had no record of his death. One of the detectives said in a criminal complaint that he talked with the husband over the phone. The refund claim was promptly denied.
Lori Shawley is expected to surrender to authorities today.
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