Attorney Shannon Leigh Clark on Thursday morning entered a guilty plea to fraud charges in Federal Court.
She faces sentencing by Judge Curtis Collier on May 20 at 9 a.m.
She could get up to 47 months in prison, but Judge Collier said it likely will not be the maximum.
Her attorney, Bill Ortwein, said if she is sent away it "could result in some very serious custody issues."
Her former husband, attorney Patrick Eugene Clark, was sentenced earlier to a 4-year prison term on fraud charges. He has been serving at a prison in Atlanta, but is now at a halfway house in Chattanooga, attorney Ortwein said.
Ms. Clark had entered a guilty plea earlier, but at the sentencing Judge Collier balked at approving it due to "the plea agreement confining the court's discretion." He said under a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision federal judges have more latitude in sentencing.
Under the previous agreement, the sentencing range would have been from 0-6 months.
A number of the charges against Ms. Clark related to the prior federal case brought against her former husband. It was charged that between June and October 2000 she was involved in a scheme to obtain money by false pretenses involving an advertiser flier for soliciting persons to obtain a pre-approved credit card for a fee.