A Perth woman has been accused of defrauding hundreds of people around the world of tens of thousands of dollars by pretending she had cancer.
The 35-year-old, who will appear at Joondalup Magistrates Court on Friday, faces a charge of obtaining benefit by fraud over the alleged scam, which dates back to 2021.
Echoing the infamous Belle Gibson case (the author was fined $410,000 by the Federal Court in 2017 for lying about having cancer), the WA woman allegedly benefited from a GoFundMe page that raised $36,000 from around 500 people.
She was arrested two weeks ago and police will allege in court that in March 2021, a man created the GoFundMe page for her because she had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
It will be alleged that the woman subsequently registered as the beneficiary of the money collected, the Western Australia reported.
A Perth woman has been accused of defrauding hundreds of people around the world of tens of thousands of dollars by pretending she had cancer (file image)
It will also be alleged that the woman appeared in a video on another website to promote the GoFundMe page, claiming the money raised would be used for her medical treatment.
WA Police will allege that between March and September 2021, more than 500 people from 16 countries donated more than $37,000 to the GoFundMe page.
Between March and October 2021, the woman allegedly transferred more than $36,000 of the money collected to her own bank account.
“It will be alleged that the woman had not been diagnosed with the medical condition as claimed in the fundraising account and support video,” a police spokesperson said.
There is no allegation that the man who created the GoFundMe page knew the woman’s claims were untrue and he has not been charged with any crime.
For many Australians, the new case has striking similarities to that of Victorian woman Belle Gibson.
He claimed to have cured his terminal brain cancer with a healthy diet and encouraged others to switch from conventional medicine to natural remedies.
Gibson launched an app called The Whole Pantry in 2013 and signed a book deal with Penguin Random House, before it was revealed that he had never been diagnosed with cancer.
Seven years after receiving a $410,000 fine, he has allegedly failed to pay it due to his enormous personal debts, which may have grown to more than $500,000 with interest.
“I haven’t paid for things because I can’t afford it,” he said on a television show in February.
Belle Gibson (pictured) once claimed she had terminal brain cancer that was cured simply by eating healthy foods, but it was later discovered she never had the disease.
Gibson (pictured) was later fined around $410,000 after being found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct.