A Nevada woman pleaded guilty to faking a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. The scam led her to take in more than $20,000 in donations, which she used to pay her bills and provide for her children.
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Haleigh Knight said that she lied about having cancer so people would "feel guilty and more inclined to love and be around her."
How Did This Scam Start?
To carry out her plan, the New York Post reports that between June 2023 and April 2024, Knight began setting up fake fundraising pages to scam people out of money.
Prosecutors showed text messages sent by Knight confessing that she posed as different people and set up fake GoFundMe accounts to keep her scam going.
Court documents show that one of Knight's victims, a former high school classmate named Cydney Fink, said Knight was sorry for what she was doing. Fink also told her it was like "she's two different people and she can't control it."
"Haleigh states she faked having cancer so that Cydney and her family, along with Haleigh's family, would feel guilty and more inclined to love and be around her if she claimed she was sick," the documents read.
Friends Were Shocked by Knight's Lies
Meanwhile, another victim, breast cancer survivor Suzanne Duroy, was "in shock" when she learned that Knight never had cancer.
The two met in 2022 while working at a surgery center. Later, Duroy relocated to Florida to care for her mother. Knight's sister then reached out to her about the fake cancer diagnosis. Being a cancer survivor herself, Duroy became Knight's "chemo angel" and sent her nearly $1,000 in gift cards and presents.
"I couldn't believe it. I really could not believe it," Duroy said. "It's really not the money for me. It's just the point, like I felt heartbroken for her."
Another victim, Rachel Riedel, said Knight was a "sociopath" who "will scam you if she can touch you."
She added, "It infuriates me that she would take advantage of her community, of her family."
Knight is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24. She agreed to pay $19,787.12 in restitution as part of her plea deal. If she pays the restitution and completes probation, along with other requirements, she can withdraw her felony plea. Then she can plead guilty to misdemeanor theft and receive credit for time served.
