The estranged wife of a decorated NASA astronaut who claimed her spouse hacked her accounts while aboard the International Space Station has been charged with lying about the allegations.
Summer Worden is accused of falsely filing complaints against astronaut Anne McClain on two occasions, according to federal authorities.
The first incident occurred when the former Airforce intelligence officer interviewed with the Federal Trade Comission in March 2019, with the second taking place in July of that year with NASA’s Inspector General.
She faces five years in prison if convicted, ABC 6 reports.
Summer Worden (left) is accused of falsely filing complaints against astronaut Anne McClain on two occasions
Last August, Worden accused the former US Army Lieutenant of illegally accessing her financial records while aboard the International Space Station, as part of a ‘highly calculated and manipulated campaign’ to obtain custody of Woden’s six-year-old son, Briggs.
She brought a complaint against McClain with the Federal Trade Commission, claiming that McClain had committed identity theft, even though none of Worden’s funds had been tampered with.
Her parents then filed a complaint with NASA.
The indictment against Worden claims that she maintained multiple accounts at her bank, sharing access to those to McCalin until at least January 31, 2019.
Worden had said that she opened a new account on September 2018, resetting her login information so that she could prevent McClain from getting access to it.
Last August, Worden accused the former US Army Lieutenant of illegally accessing her financial records while aboard the International Space Station
Worden (left) claimed that the scheme was part of a ‘highly calculated and manipulated campaign’ to obtain custody of Woden’s six-year-old son, Briggs
The indictment claims Worder actually opened the account in April 2018 and didn’t change her login information until January 2019.
Worden is expected to appear in court on April 13. She faces a fine of $250,000 if convicted.
Last year, McClain sat down for an under-oath interview with the inspector general, where she was said to have admitted that she did access Worden’s banking information.
However, McClain apparently claimed that she was just doing something she had always done while she and Worden were still a couple – checking in on Worden’s finances to make sure that there was enough money to support Worden’s child, who they had been raising together.
She brought a complaint against McClain with the Federal Trade Commission, claiming that McClain had committed identity theft, even though none of Worden’s funds had been tampered with. Her parents then filed a complaint with NASA
Worden claimed the real ‘catalyst’ for their divorce came in the shape of McClain and her repeated requests to legally adopt Briggs, which she turned down even when the pair were married
McClain claimed that she was using the same password that she had always used during their relationship and that she had not been told to stop accessing Worden’s bank account.
McClain and Worden married in 2014, with Worden filing for divorce in 2018 after McClain accused her of assault, a claim which Worden denies and said was part of McClain’s efforts at gaining custody of her son. The assault case was eventually dismissed.
Worden claimed the real ‘catalyst’ for their divorce came in the shape of McClain and her repeated requests to legally adopt Briggs, which she turned down even when the pair were married.
She claimed McClain didn’t respect the decision and shortly after she noticed a shift in her demeanor and in their relationship
She said McClain didn’t respect the decision and shortly after she noticed a shift in her demeanor and in their relationship.
‘The person I know now wasn’t the person I married. Over time true colors were revealed, and the real Anne came about,’ Worden said. ‘And… [she’s a] very much controlling individual.
‘It was almost like, “you will do as I say and I’ll show you through the courts,”’ she added.
In Worden’s parents’ complaint, they agreed that McClain’s actions were part of a ‘highly calculated and manipulative campaign’ to obtain custody of Worden’s son, who she had given birth to about a year before the couple got married.