PHILADELPHIA, June 15 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania woman who spent 10 months in prison for faking a kidnapping is expected to plead guilty to multiple felonies, a Wednesday court filing showed.
In 2009, Bonnie Sweeten, 40, Bucks County's notorious "Hoax mom," pretended she and her 9-year-old daughter, Julia, were kidnapped by two black men, when in actuality the woman and child had flown to Florida's Disney World where authorities caught up to them and arrested Sweeten, PhillyBurbs.com reported.
The mother of three fabricated the kidnapping after authorities began investigating thefts at the law firm of former attorney Debbie Carlitz, where Sweeten was employed as office manager.
After Sweeten was arrested in Florida, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of making a false statement and identity theft.
She was also indicted on federal mail fraud, wire fraud, and other charges for which she was due to be tried next week, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
While working for Carlitz, Sweeten transferred up to $700,000 from accounts and judgments to finance a lifestyle beyond her means, court records stated.
She has been held in federal prison for nearly a year, a federal judge having ruled her a flight risk, PhillyBurbs.com said.
