Woman, 22, Arrested after Faking Cancer Diagnosis, Collecting GHc 85k in Donations
- A 22-year-old woman faked cancer to get donations from well-wishers and spent the cash on drugs
- Katie duped her husband and family members into believing she had cancer and even shaved to play the part
- Her family finally established that she was lying and informed authorities, prompting her arrest
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A woman has been arrested for fleecing money from her Facebook friends, church and community by pretending she had cancer.
Source: UGC
Lynn Shellhorse, 22, from Georgia, US, collected thousands of dollars from unsuspecting well-wishers by faking cancer.
WSB-TV, an ABC-affiliated television station, reported that authorities started investigating the case in April 2021 after receiving a tip-off from a family member saying Katie’s claims she had cancer were untrue.
According to estimates, Katie received GHc 85.2k in donations from fundraising efforts, church members and neighbours.
In a bid to make her lie believable, Kati shaved her head multiple times. In a bid to make her lie believable, Kati shaved her head multiple times.
A family member who spoke to the police said Katie used the money to purchase marijuana and alcohol.
On May 17, she was charged with theft by deception.
Following the arrest, her family released a statement saying she also duped them into believing she had cancer.
However, after a few months, they started suspecting that the mother of two and began keeping records of her claims.
“We didn’t understand why her doctor wouldn’t allow a family member to accompany her to visits or why her experience was so different from anyone we’d ever known who dealt with cancer,” the statement read.
Incredibly, Katie’s husband was also in the dark and was convinced she had cancer.
According to the family, they filed a report with the police after gathering enough evidence to debunk claims that she had cancer.
“Finally, she admitted that she falsely claimed to have cancer,” they wrote.
Her family described being devastated by her actions, saying that they would not defend her. They further apologised to well-wishers duped by Katie.
“We pray for all that were affected and believe that justice will be served,” the statement concluded.
In July 2019, a Kenyan fashion designer was accused of faking ovarian cancer by her caregivers.
Philip Oketch and Joy Kakya said Shiyenze Khasoha did not have cancer and accused her of defrauding Kenyans over GHc 85.2k.
Shiyenze maintained she had been struggling with cancer since March 2018.
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Ebenezer Agbey Quist (HOD Human-Interest) Ebenezer Agbey Quist is the Head of the Human Interest Desk at YEN.com.gh. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from KNUST (2017) with 8 years of experience as a writer and 3 years as an editor. He has certificates in AFP courses on digital investigation techniques. At YEN.com.gh, Ebenezer has won the Outstanding Achievement for Professional Conduct Award and the Best Human Interest Editor Award. He is also the author of 3 books. You can contact him via ebenezer.quist@yen.com.gh.
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