GREENBELT, Md. (AP)- Prosecutors say a Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to government fraud which netted her and her husband more than $100,000.
Forty-eight-year-old Karen Strayer of Lovettsville, Va., entered the plea Tuesday. She faces a maximum term of one year in prison at sentencing on Dec. 6. Strayer has agreed to pay restitution of $104,000.
Karen Strayer, formerly Karen Earle, and her husband, Michael Strayer, were indicted in May. Prosecutors said Michael Strayer, a former employee at the Department of Energy, started a magazine for the department and academic communities. He told the magazine publisher to hire Karen Strayer, then his girlfriend, as a consultant. Karen Strayer's company was paid for articles that were provided for free.
Michael Strayer committed suicide in June.
