A flaming fire. 

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A repeat arsonist who burned down her rental home in Armstrong County to collect insurance money is headed to state prison, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Emmajean Mowery, 65, of Kittanning, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony arson and one count of felony insurance fraud for the November 2023 fire in Rayburn Township. She was sentenced to up to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $110,000 in restitution.

Investigators found that Mowery increased her insurance policy just weeks before the fire and lied to the insurance company, claiming someone else in the home accidentally started it. Her real motive, prosecutors say, was to collect a payout to help pay off $57,000 in restitution she still owed from a previous arson conviction.

“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.”

Mowery also failed to disclose her prior insurance fraud conviction when applying for her new policy, investigators noted.

The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by an insurance investigator. Deputy Attorney General Daniel Gleixner prosecuted the case.