JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill today unsealed an indictment against a 45-year-old Jasper woman. The indictment charges the woman with nine counts of mailing hoax anthrax letters.

Kathryn Cohen Allen was charged in federal court. If convicted, Allen could spend up to forty-five years in federal prison.

Allen was arrested at her home by FBI special agents and task force officers, according to Special Agent Jeff Westcott, Media Coordinator for the FBI in Jacksonville.

Her initial appearance in federal court was scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Westcott said.

O'Neill said the indictment alleges Allen mailed threatening letters between June 24 and June 28, 2011. The letters contained a white powder substances and were sent to the offices of United States Senator Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson.

According to the indictment, she also sent similar letters to the Hamilton County Health Department, the Hamilton County Tax Collector's Office, the Hamilton County Correctional Institution, the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and three private citizens.

Testing conducted both in the field and in the laboratory determined the white powder substance was not anthrax.

There is no date listed for Allen's next court appearance.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jay Taylor will prosecute the case.

(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Allen is from Jasper, Ga. She is from Jasper, Fla.)

First Coast News