FAYETTE — A Natchez woman faces up to 20 years in prison after being convicted of two counts false pretense in Jefferson County.

Emily Sanders, 53, 302 Mansfield Drive, was scheduled to be sentenced Monday, but the sentencing was delayed because her attorneys could not be present.

Sanders was arrested in March and charged with embezzlement under contract for actions she took in Jefferson County.

At the time of her arrest, Jefferson County Sheriff Peter Walker said Sanders had told a Jefferson County resident that she was looking for an investor in a business for which she had already collected three-quarters of the necessary funds.

The money Sanders collected was supposed to be put in an escrow account, but that never happened, and the business never opened, Walker said at the time.

Sanders’ husband, Merrick Sanders, was also charged with the crime at the time.

District 22 Assistant District Attorney Marty Arrington said when the matter was presented to a Jefferson County grand jury, the jury changed the charges against Emily Sanders to two counts of false pretense.

The grand jury did not return an indictment against Merrick Sanders, and the charges against him were dropped.

Arrington said he could not discuss why the grand jury changed the charges against Emily Sanders and did not indict Merrick Sanders because grand jury proceedings are secret.

The matter went to trial last week, and Emily Sanders was convicted Tuesday by a 12-person jury.

Each count of false pretense carries with it a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.