Third person charged for faking cancer

Yet another person has appeared in an Ontario court facing charges of fraud after allegedly faking cancer.

Christopher Gordon, 39, allegedly first claimed he had terminal brain cancer in October 2009. His friends and family threw a fundraiser and collected $3,000. Police have charged Gordon with fraud.

The case may sound familiar – this is the third time in less than a month that a person has been charged with fraud after faking a terminal illness.

On November 9, Jessica Ann Leeder of Timmins, Ontario, pleaded guilty to fraud charges after pretending to have lung and stomach cancer. She is due to be sentenced on December 21.

One week earlier, Ashley Kirilow of Burlington, Ontario, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 after convincing her community that she had terminal cancer.

The 23-year-old shaved her head, plucked out her eyebrows, and starved herself in order to execute her cancer hoax. She still faces six counts of fraud under $5,000.

This isn’t the first time people have attempted scams that tug on their community’s heartstrings and their purse strings as well.

Jessica Vega

Yonkers, N.Y., bride-to-be Jessica Vega told community members she suffered from leukemia and had one year to live.

Generous donations poured in, and Vega was gifted a wedding dress, wedding rings, and flowers for her big day.

Vega’s husband told a local news station in September that her illness was a hoax. Vega’s husband has reportedly filed for divorce.

Keele Maynor

A judge sentenced Keele Maynor of Chattanooga, Tennessee to 42 months in prison for fraud charges in July.

For five years Maynor reportedly duped co-workers, friends, and even family members – insisting that she was terminally ill.

The judge also ordered Maynor to repay the $54,000 she scammed from her community.

Michael Guglielmucci

In 2008 an Australian preacher came clean about his terminal illness: Michael Guglielmucci had been pretending to have leukemia for two years.

The popular preacher received donations and produced a music single called “Healer” where he sings to a crowd of fans while breathing through an oxygen tube.

In a statement read to his congregation Guglielmucci said he faked having cancer in order to cover up his pornography addiction.

Heather Faria

In 2006 a former school teacher from the state of Massachusetts pleaded guilty to faking cancer and bilking thousands of dollars in donations.

Prosecutors said that Heather Faria stole over $35,000 from people trying to help a woman they thought was suffering from stomach cancer. With the donations Faria bankrolled a vacation in the Caribbean.

Michael Bradway

Michael Bradway made headlines when he was arrested in 2006 for faking cystic fibrosis in his young son. Bradway began fabricating medical bills in 2001.

He underfed his son, and told the boy’s school that he could not be immunised because of religious beliefs.

Bradway accepted donations to cover his son’s medical bills, even convincing family members of the illness.

The boy now lives with his mother. Bradway was reportedly charged with child abuse and larceny, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.