A St. Louis County woman has admitted her part in a Ponzi-like scam that prosecutors say bilked customers buying prearranged funerals out of $600 million.

Sharon Nekol Province, 69, of Ballwin, Mo., pleaded guilty Monday to six federal counts, including mail fraud, wire fraud and misappropriation of insurance premiums. Sentencing is set for Nov. 7. Five others are expected to go to trial in August in what the U.S. Attorney’s office in St. Louis calls one of the largest fraud cases ever prosecuted in the district.

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According to court documents, a now-defunct company — National Prearranged Services Inc. — sold prearranged funeral contracts in several states from 1992 until 2008. Under the program, customers would typically pay a single sum of up to $10,000 to cover the cost of the funeral service and merchandise.

The law required National Prearranged Services, based in the St. Louis suburb of Clayton, Mo., to keep the customers’ money in a secure trust or insurance policy. Federal prosecutors say money from as many as 150,000 customers was used to enrich the company’s officers and others, and that new business provided the money needed to pay for funerals that previous customers had paid for in advance.

Province began as an administrative secretary, but later became president of National Prearranged Services and vice president of its affiliate, Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Co. Prosecutors say she didn’t make any decisions in the scheme but “deliberately shut her eyes” to the likelihood that fraud was being committed.

Her attorney, Joseph Green, said Province didn’t have a high school diploma or an insurance license.

“When you’re a corporate officer, you have a fiduciary obligation as an officer of the company that if something smells bad you have to investigate it further,” Green said Tuesday.

Trial is scheduled for Aug. 5 for the other defendants, NPS owner James Douglas Cassity, his son Brent Douglas Cassity, along with Randall K. Sutton, Howard A. Wittner and David R. Wulf. The men served as officers and directors of NPS and its affiliated companies.

Attorneys for the defendants did not respond to interview requests.

David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, today announced the indictment and arrest of an Owensboro, Kentucky man charged with six counts of mail fraud in connection with defrauding over $200,000 from an elderly Daviess County, Kentucky couple.

Robert K. Gray was charged by a federal grand jury meeting in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on June 12, 2013, and the seal was lifted today, following Gray’s arrest in Owensboro, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gray had an initial appearance on the charges today in United States District Court in Bowling Green, Kentucky, before Magistrate Judge H. Brent Brennenstuhl, and counsel was appointed to represent him. He is scheduled to be arraigned in United States District Court in Owensboro on June 27, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. CST.

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According to the indictment, Gray defrauded the couple by making material misrepresentations about an investment opportunity in the defendant’s construction company, after making home improvements to the couple’s residence in excess of $300,000, an amount that is more than double the assessed value of the property.

Specifically, between January 13, 2010, through August 5, 2010, C.R. paid $338,000 to the defendant Robert Gray and to his brother (not a defendant in the indictment) for renovations to his home which, in 2013, according to the property valuation records kept by the City of Owensboro, was valued at $148,000.

Further, between July 10, 2010 and December 17, 2010, Gray is charged with devising a scheme to defraud C.R. and U.R. of their GE retirement fund in the total amount of $220,000. Specifically, Gray asked C.R. to invest in his start-up company, Unlimited Constructors, to fund projects Gray said the company had in Madisonville, Kentucky, and on Highway 54 in Owensboro. Gray promised C.R. a substantial return on his investment, when in truth and in fact, Gray knew Unlimited Constructors did not have construction projects for a shopping center in Madisonville, Kentucky, or for any commercial development on Highway 54 in Owensboro.

It was further part of the scheme to defraud that an Unlimited Constructors bank account was opened by defendant Gray at U.S. Bank on September 27, 2010. According to the indictment, none of the funds obtained from C.R. were used in construction projects in Madisonville or Owensboro. According to bank records, the account was solely funded by checks drawn on a retirement fund, made payable to C.R. and U.R. Gray allegedly used the funds to pay for personal expenses and to purchase vehicles including a 2006 Hummer for $25,000 the day after the account was opened, and, approximately two weeks later, to purchase a 2006 Kawasaki motorcycle for $5,000. If convicted at trial, Gray faces 120 years in prison, a $1,5000,000 fine, and a three-year period of supervised release.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Marisa Ford and is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).