Sgt. Through its proprietary nanotainer devices, the company claimed to be able to perform myriad lab tests from just a few drops of blood, avoiding the pain and inconvenience of a conventional blood test. On a GoFundMe page that has since been removed, Russo raised more than $37,000 from 438 donations, according to the Muscatine Journal. In a statement, read to the court, Steven Pompeus, of East Kent Hospitals NHS trust, said that during the Covid-19 pandemic two consultants were "taken out of the frontline" to give evidence "when their work was plainly better needed working within the NHS and working clinically". Ashley Kirilow was jailed for breaching her house arrest conditions by visiting her boyfriend. A judge said she had carried out a "cunning and manipulative" deception. [2][42]Skateboard personality Rob Dyer's organization Skate4Cancer Between July 31 and Aug. 22, Smith had made several reports to police detailing "online harassment" from people posting comments on her campaigns that described her as a fraud or not actually having cancer. An Iowa woman who claimed to have been diagnosed with cancer documenting her medical journey on TikTok and raising thousands on GoFundMe was actually faking the whole thing, according to police. DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) A Dickson woman who faked cancer to solicit money from the public will spend several months in prison and pay thousands of dollars in restitution to her victims . By. 2023 BBC. Kirilow was arrested by a grocery store security guard, on October 7, 2011, for attempting to steal $11 worth of cold medicine. Federal authorities ultimately contacted the two physicians named in the letters, and both denied writing the notes. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter'. She lived with both parents, and her grandparents, switching custody multiple times. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, claiming in 2012 that she needed donations for her medical expenses, 50 Cents Sire Spirits blames SI couple for embezzlement plot, Bidens laughable, late-to-the-game crackdown on massive COVID fraud, Biden begs Congress for $1.6B more to fight $100B in COVID fraud, Thieves are swiping left and right to steal all around NYC. An Ohio mother is facing an abuse and neglect complaint for allegedly fabricating her daughter's terminal illness to "obtain funding for trips, housing, and other expenses of the last several . MURDER OF 2 IOWA STUDENTS WAS A TARGETED ATTACK, ACCORDING TO POLICE, Eldridge Police said Russo was arrested on Jan. 23 and is facing a charge of theft by means of deception after stealing money from donors. She spent that time in half-way houses and mental health facilities. Our family struggled last Fall when Amanda finally told us all the truth, he wrote. Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Lyne Barlow has been jailed. Madison Russo, 19, allegedly faked having cancer for months. CHICKASHA, Okla. - It was a cancer con that some people are calling a sick scam. exploited people's trust, their kindness, their sympathy and their . Police said in a news release that she was arrested on Jan. 23 and is facing a charge of theft by means of deception after stealing money from donors. The S.E.C. Kelly Val Smith, 40, faced the South . Judge Weekes said that he had "very significantly reduced the sentence" to limit the amount of time that her son would be without his mother. When I stop feeling angry I feel sad this has changed me, she added. Amy Ellissa Hammer of Seagrove, North Carolina, was arrested Thursday when a . Reality Stars Who've Faced Jail Time. When people donated to Riley over the internet or at in-person fund-raisers, they believed their donations would be used to pay Rileys cancer-related expenses, the US attorney said in a statement. Chris Hondros/Getty Images Jeffrey B. Coopersmith, Mr. Balwanis lawyer, described the S.E.C.s actions Wednesday as unwarranted. In a statement, Mr. Coopersmith said Mr. Balwani, who is known as Sunny, believed in the potential and mission of the company and its technology to promote transparency and benefit people by empowering them with access to their own health care information at a low cost., Mr. Balwani invested millions of dollars in Theranos, Mr. Coopersmith said, and never benefited financially from his work at the company., Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos C.E.O. Police began an investigation in 2018 after a doctor, who had recently given her the all-clear, saw her crowd-funding page and raised suspicions. At conservative gathering, Trump is still the favourite. A woman who faked having cancer and raked in more than 45,000 in donations from well-wishers has been jailed. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Chavez dropped the cancer news on the eve of her sentencing in the embezzlement case in March 2021. Chavez pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge in April. Theresa S. Strub, 29, of Lone Rock, was charged in . Elkabbas was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment after being convicted of fraud by false representation and possessing criminal property. Since beginning her bogus campaign in October 2012, she launched her personal blog titled Lymphoma Can Suck It, posting photos of herself online talking about her treatment and special cancer drugs. Get up to speed with our Essential California newsletter, sent six days a week. Sentencing Elkabbass, Judge Weekes said she had "fought this case tooth and nail, refusing to accept the fact that you had not been diagnosed with cancer". Kirilow surrendered to the police on August 6, 2010. Nicole Elkabbas, 42, a former consultant for the luxury department store Harrods, baited almost 700 people to donate to her cause by posting a photo of herself in a hospital bed on GoFundMe in 2017, kentonline.com reported. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? An Illinois woman who lied about having breast cancer and other genetic disorders in order to steal thousands of dollars from non-profit organizations and kind strangers has been sentenced to 18 . A woman who faked a cancer diagnosis to claim more than 45,000 in donations has been jailed for 33 months. [41], According to reports, Kirilow was working as a receptionist at the Sutton Group Results Realty Inc. office in September 2008. 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Jennifer Lawrence will play Ms. Holmes in a forthcoming movie. She and the company did not admit or deny the allegations, and the settlement will have to be approved in court, the S.E.C. She was arrested on Valentine's Day. Kirilow told Toronto Star that she had lied about being terminally ill.[10]. KENTON COUNTY, Ky. (WKRC) - New allegations have been made against a Northern Kentucky woman found guilty of faking cancer. She was sentenced to one further day in jail. In 2016, federal regulators barred Ms. Holmes from owning and operating a medical laboratory for two years, sanctions that Theranos said it would appeal. But the troubling reality was: Riley never had cancer and was never sick. Jessica Krecskay, 25, was indicted for theft by deception exceeding $10,000 for allegedly raising money under false pretenses aka claiming she was sick when in reality she was not. Nicole Elkabbas, 42, claimed she needed to pay for life-saving ovarian . Judge Mark Weekes slapped the fraudster with a prison sentence of two years and nine months, telling her that her actions were pure wild fantasy and a deliberate deceit.I do not wish to keep you in the agony of waiting for any longer than I need to, and so I must tell you immediately that the sentence of imprisonment that I will be imposing shortly is one that will result in your immediate imprisonment, he told Elkabbas, whose own mother died of cancer last year. Other monetary donations flowed in from Facebook, a CrossFit fund-raiser, raffles, various sales and even eBay auctions, which included an electric guitar signed by country musicians LeAnn Rimes and John Michael Montgomery. May 04, 2022. Elkabbas was sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment after being convicted of fraud by false representation and possessing criminal property. She also got one neighbour to walk her dog for her and accepted gifts, like a reclining chair, for her alleged injuries. ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A woman cheated hundreds of people out of thousands of dollars by pretending she had cancer and may have recently been doing it again. Jessica Smith is charged with theft by deception and other theft-related counts. Police began an investigation in 2018 after a doctor, who had recently given her the all-clear, saw her crowd-funding page and raised suspicions. A tentative trial date has been scheduled for a 19-year-old woman accused of bilking more than $37,000 from donors over a fake cancer diagnosis. It wasnt until 2019 that her ruse was up, outed by the Internal Revenue Service and charged with one count of wire fraud in 2020, which she pleaded guilty to last fall. Georgia woman faked cancer diagnosis, collected $15K in donations, deputies say Polk County police said 22-year-old Katie Lynn Shellhorse collected thousands of dollars from the Cedartown area in . Friends, family and even members of her church donated to the cause, money all deposited into her personal bank account. During her ten months of house arrest she was to be allowed three hours a week for shopping for "necessities". Elkabbas was convicted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court last year of fraud and possession of criminal property. (Eldridge Police Department), Project Purple told McClatchy News that this "is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.". The scammer who gambled about $85,000 in a year used the donated funds to repay her debts, as well as on trips abroad, hotels, lavish restaurant meals and a pricey box at the Tottenham Hotspur soccer stadium. She pleaded guilty two weeks later to theft under $5,000. Nicole Elkabbas, 42, set up an online fundraising campaign, falsely claiming she needed . Woman Who Faked Terminal Cancer to Collect $260,000 in Donations Gets 25 Months in Prison. Ms. After youve been living with a big lie on your chest for years, I can imagine it becomes part of your identity., He added that he is eager to move past the legal repercussions of her actions so that his family can work toward a healthier and brighter future., Her father, Thomas Maneri, also called Riley thoughtful and kind in his own written statement, adding that she put other peoples feelings often before her own., Ive tried to be equally supportive of Amanda, and although she didnt have cancer, she has struggled with several other physical health issues, he said. Pennsylvania woman arrested for faking cancer and collecting $10K in GoFundMe, Facebook campaigns . Now Adshead has been jailed for 28 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Stoke Live reports. Elkabbas had been "in the grip of a gambling addiction" at the time of the offences, but had since sought treatment, he said. Madison Russo, 19, is now charged with theft after purporting to be suffering from "leukemia, stage 2 pancreatic cancer and a tumor, the size of a football, that wrapped around her spine," the Eldridge Police Department said in a news release. ZUMAPRESS.com. Kirilow's father described growing suspicious of his daughter's cancer claims, and when she wouldn't supply details of her treatment, he told her he no longer believed she had cancer, and that he would report her to the police if she didn't surrender herself first. Subpoenas for medical records were obtained which revealed that Russo has never been diagnosed with any form of cancer or tumor from any medical facilities within the Quad Cities or surrounding communities. Australian Associated Press. A. conwoman who faked her ovarian cancer journey to swindle more than 45,000 to spend on holidays and a box at White Hart Lane has been jailed. A woman in Australia has been charged for allegedly gaining A$55,000 ($39,000; 30,000) from a fundraising site after faking a cancer diagnosis. But the notes and the cancer were fake. Prison, her purported oncologist stated, would be a death sentence for her. complaint made public Wednesday outlined a concerted effort by Ms. Holmes and Theranos to exaggerate the companys technology, when in fact the vast majority of the tests it was conducting were done using traditional equipment made by other companies. [37] Elkabbas, who pleaded not guilty and claimed she believed she had cancer, was convicted by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court in November. In a letter to the judge, Chavez said that she panicked and that she was sorry for her deceit. [33][34]The Hamilton Spectator speculated that Kirilow was risking having her parole revoked. Kirilow's parents divorced when she was young. Michelle Lynn Stultz, 46, has been charged with four counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses after lying about "financial hardships due to medical treatments," according to the Iredell County Sheriff's Office. Such hearings determine what a criminal gained as a result of their crime, and their ill-gotten money and property can be confiscated and, in the case of the latter, sold. "If you are able to, donations would be greatly appreciated to help cover medical expenses and to allow Maddie to focus on one thing only, which is to show that she is stronger than cancer and will beat this. But while investors thought their blood was being tested with the companys technology, Theranos often actually tested their blood on third-party analyzers, because Theranos could not conduct all of the tests it offered prospective investors on its proprietary analyzers, according to the complaint.