Australian woman jailed over faking terminal cancer for donations
A 24-year-old female property manager from Melbourne, Australia, has been sentenced to three months jail for faking terminal cancer and duping her parents' friends/neighbors of $42,000 to maintain her lavish lifestyle. Hanna Dickenson reportedly took money from her parents for a lifesaving treatment once in 2012 and then later again, saying she had to get treatments done in Thailand and New Zealand. Here's more.
How was she found out?
Since Dickenson's parents, farmers near Victoria's Swan Hill, didn't have enough money to afford her cancer treatment, they asked friends and neighbors for help, reported ABC News. However, Dickenson spent the donations on parties, alcohol, drugs and overseas holidays. But her truth was soon uncovered when one of her donors saw her party photos on Facebook, which made him question her claims.
A 'despicable' scam
After she pleaded guilty to seven charges of obtaining property by deception, along with jail, Dickenson was asked to devote 150 hours to community work and undergo treatment for mental health/substance abuse. Calling her behavior "despicable," Magistrate David Starvaggi said Dickenson's conduct tore "at the very heartstrings of human nature." "People's desire to assist and social trust has been breached," he said.
'Case not as bad as celebrity blogger Belle Gibson'
Dickenson's lawyer, Beverley Lindsay, unsuccessfully argued that she not be given jail since she had "turned her life around" and her case was less severe than Belle Gibson, an Australian celebrity blogger who was fined $410,000 in 2017 for wrongly claiming to have effectively fought brain cancer. Dickenson risks losing her job at Melbourne's Little Real Estate. Lindsay said they would appeal the sentence.
