SC woman pleads guilty in surrogate mother scam

The Associated Press

GREENWOOD, S.C. --

A South Carolina woman accused of obtaining money by offering to be a surrogate mother has pleaded guilty to seven charges.

The (Greenwood) Index-Journal reported that 28-year-old Jessica O'Donnell of Hodges pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and six counts of obtaining money under fales pretenses.

Prosecutor Jerry Peace says O'Donnell was sentenced to the six months she's been in jail, plus five years of probation and ordered to repay nearly $9,000.

Peace says O'Donnell advertised she would be a surrogate mother if families paid her $1,000. The newspaper says the woman collected more than $14,000 in the scam before she was arrested in December.

Her husband, Daniel O'Donnell, faces the same charge and will be tried later.

Information from: The Index-Journal, http://www.indexjournal.com