A Butler county woman was sentenced to prison in federal court in Pittsburgh on Thursday for fraud relating to a nonprofit horse rescue organization that she ran in West Deer Township.

Pamela A. Vivirito, 47, of Mars, was sentenced five months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay

$20,000 in restitution on her conviction of mail fraud and filing a false tax return, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Chief United States District Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence Thursday after Vivirito pleaded guilty in April to one count of mail fraud charged in a second superseding indictment and one count of filing a false tax return.

Vivirito operated Equine Angels Rescue, a not-for-profit charity which solicited contributions to rescue and rehabilitate horses.

She fraudulently solicited donations and used them for personal expenses, as well as caused the filing of a fraudulent and false Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax wherein it was reported her compensation was $46,877, when in actuality, Vivirito received compensation in the amount of $93,606, the press release states.

The FBI and IRS — Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Vivirito, the release states.