Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? An employee of the National Institutes of Health was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Miami on charges that she threatened to put anthrax in the Broward County (Fla.) Property Appraiser’s Office, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Michelle Ledgister, 43, of Bethesda, Md., faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000 if convicted under a year-old terrorism law. She also would be required to reimburse Broward authorities for any expenses incurred in investigating and responding to the threat.

Ledgister was charged by the FBI after she called the property appraiser’s office and left a message on an answering machine saying, “you guys now have anthrax spores.”

Ledgister was angry that an investigator found she was no longer eligible for a homestead exemption on her Parkland home, officials said. The loss of the exemption raised her taxes from about $1,900 to $4,200 annually, according to property appraiser’s records.

Ledgister is to appear in court today.