Woman Gets 2 Years in Prison for Cancer Scam
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for collecting $36,000 in donations by fooling friends and colleagues into thinking she had cancer -- going so far as to shave her head, forge a doctor’s certificate and tape a fake intravenous port to her arm.
Rachel Allen pleaded guilty in October to four counts of felony theft by false pretenses.
Allen’s friends and family gave her free housing, food and cash and even paid for weekly massages to ease the pain of chemotherapy, said Lisa Poll, a deputy district attorney.
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