Mother confesses that she faked cancer diagnosis to scam more than $20K from victims

A mother has confessed to fabricating having pancreatic cancer in hopes people would feel guilty and more inclined to love and be around her, while she accepted more than $20K in donations to spend on herself and her children. Haleigh Knight from Nevada pleaded guilty in a Las Vegas court on Monday, April 13, to a felony theft charge and admitted to lying about a cancer diagnosis to set up a fake fundraising page to scam thousands from numerous people, including a longtime friend and breast cancer survivor, between June 2023 and April 2024, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Prosecutors said Knights own text messages showed Knight confessing to posing as different people and creating GoFundMe accounts to maintain her cancer ruse, and was using the funds to pay her bills and provide for her children. One of Knights victims and her former high school classmate, Cydney Fink, said Knight apologized for what she was doing and told her it was like shes two different people and she cant control it, according to court documents obtained by KLAS. Haleigh states she faked having cancer so that Cydney and her family along with Haleighs family would feel guilty and more inclined to love and be around her if she claimed she was sick, according to the documents. Breast cancer survivor and victim Suzanne Duroy told KSNV she donated to Knights GoFundMe and was left in shock upon learning she had never had cancer. I couldnt believe it. I really could not believe it, Duroy said, adding that she first met Knight in 2022 while they were working at a surgery center. Duroy said she had relocated to Florida to care for her mother when Knights sister reached out to her about the fake cancer diagnosis and, being a cancer survivor herself, she became her chemo angel, sending the con artist nearly $1,000 in gift cards and presents. Its really not the money for me. Its just the point, like I felt heartbroken for her, Duroy said. Another of Knights victims, Rachel Riedel, described the fraudster as a sociopath who will scam you if she can touch you. It infuriates me that she would take advantage of her community, of her family, Riedel told KSNV. Following her guilty plea, Knight agreed to pay $19,787.12 in restitution as part of her plea deal, the Review-Journal reported. If Knight pays the restitution and completes probation and other requirements, she can withdraw her felony plea, plead guilty to misdemeanor theft and receive credit for time served. Knight is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24.The post Mother confesses that she faked cancer diagnosis to scam more than $20K from victims appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.