Repeat Arsonist Sentenced to State Prison, Ordered to Pay $110K Restitution for Burning Own Home in Insurance Collection Scheme

HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that an Armstrong County woman has been sentenced up to three years in prison for intentionally setting fire to her rented home in 2023 as a part of a scheme to collect an insurance payout.

Investigators found that 65-year-old Emmajean Mowery committed the crimes to receive a payout to help cover a previous, court-ordered restitution sum for burning a previous home. Mowery increased her insurance policy weeks before the 2023 arson fire.

Mowery, of Kittanning, pleaded guilty to three felonies: two counts of arson and one count of insurance fraud, and was sentenced Thursday. The sentencing judge ordered Mowery to pay more than $110,000 in restitution to the insurance company that paid out.

“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,” Attorney General Sunday said. “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.”

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