Pa. woman gets probation for mail fraud charges stemming from exchange student scandal

Pa. woman sentenced in exchange student scandal

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A northeastern Pennsylvania woman who placed foreign exchange students in filthy homes has been sentenced to probation on federal charges.

Seventy-year-old Edna Burgette was sentenced Thursday for mail fraud after pleading guilty to falsifying background-check paperwork in February.

Burgette was fired from her job with the San Francisco-based Aspect Foundation in May 2009 after allegations surfaced that students were malnourished and living in homes with floors covered in dog feces.

Burgette was sentenced this month to three months in prison on state child endangerment charges. Her attorney says the jail time was later changed to house arrest.

Burgette says she took on more responsibility than she could handle.

Information from: The Times-Tribune, thetimes-tribune.com/