Missouri Woman Sentenced to Probation for Tornado Fraud

A southwest Missouri woman has been sentenced to four years of probation for defrauding victims of the 2011 Joplin tornado.

The Lebanon Daily Record reports that 57-year-old Gloria Schoeller of Springfield was sentenced this month for unlawful merchandising practices and public adjusting without a license. As part of a plea deal, Schoeller also must pay more than $24,000 in restitution and testify against her ex-husband, 66-year-old Jeffrey Wolfson.

Schoeller and Wolfson were charged in May 2012 with taking about $38,000 of insurance money from three Joplin property owners without performing the promised repairs. The Missouri attorney general office says Wolfson is scheduled to go to trial in October in Jasper County.

The EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin demolished a broad swath of the city and killed 161 people.