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NASA astronaut Anne McClain's ex-wife Summer Heather Worden was sentenced to three months in federal prison over falsely accusing McClain of accessing her bank account from space in July 2019.
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Summer Heather Worden is going behind bars.
The ex-wife of NASA astronaut Anne McClain was sentenced to three months in federal prison after falsely accusing McClain of illegally accessing her bank account while in space back in 2019, per a Feb. 12 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. She pled guilty in Nov. 2025 to lying to law enforcement.
The 51-year-old will also face two years of supervised release and have to pay $210,000 in restitution, the press release stated. She had been facing up to five years and a $250,000 fine, per The New York Times.
Worden had alleged that McClain—with whom she shares a son—had "guessed her password and illegally accessed" her bank account while in space on the International Space Station in July 2019 while they were doing through a divorce, per the release.
"Even after an internal investigation exonerated the former spouse," the U.S. Attorney's Office said, "Worden continued promoting the false claim to news outlets and hired a media consultant to amplify the claim. The evidence further showed Worden publicly released her former spouse’s personal information."
Upon investigation, it was revealed that Worden, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, first opened the bank account in question in April 2018, with both her and McClain having access to it until Worden changed the credentials in January 2019.
Not only that, but investigators also "determined Worden had granted her spouse access to her bank records, including login credentials, as early as 2015."
Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
McClain—who married Worden in 2014—had previously spoken out about the allegations, saying she was simply managing their family's finances and that Worden was aware that was what she was doing.
"Ms. Worden intentionally, and with full knowledge of the truth, presented a story to federal investigators and to the media with the intention of harm,” McClain said in a statement to The New York Times in November 2025. “From the outset, there was no evidence supporting her claims, and overwhelming evidence disproving them. As I continue my public service, I remain committed to the values that have defined my career and which held up under the closest scrutiny."
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