Woman Fakes Terminal Cancer, Arrested For Taking In Money
Dec. 10 2011, Published 11:19 a.m. ET
A Virginia woman was arrested Thursday for taking in money for herself by faking terminal cancer.
Martha Nicholas of Mechanicsville has made several high-profile public appearances, often wearing a T-shirt that said "Cancer Sucks" which she sold for $20. She told supporters she had "terminal stage-four ovarian cancer."
Hanover County Sheriff investigators got a tip about Nicholas last April, and say she continued with the scam even knowing she was under a legal microscope.
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Nicolas has now been charged with two misdemeanor counts of obtaining money under false pretenses. She'll be arraigned December 19.
Her attorney, Sam Simpson, told ABC News, “This was not a scam to rip people off. There is an illness. It’s a mental illness, and I can’t say more about this.”
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