A 27-year-old woman from Townsville got arrested after she fraudulently raised money on a fundraising page, telling people she was suffering from ‘terminal cancer’.
Lucy Wieland has appeared in court and Townsville Magistrates Court heard that she created a ‘fictional journey through stage five ovarian cancer treatment.’
Wieland scammed people through her Instagram, where she told her followers about her diagnosis. She also led them through the process of her treatment.
In one post, Wieland even talked about how she needed to use a walking stick to help her move as the pain caused by ovarian cancer was too much to bear.
Authorities have alleged Wieland set up a fundraising page and told the community she couldn’t cope with the financial burden caused by ‘ovarian cancer.’ The page managed to raise $55,000 (£41,000).
Detective Inspector Chris Lawson said that after a month-long investigation, Wieland was arrested. He said:
“Some people in the community identified some problems with the story and we conducted investigations to establish the veracity of the claims made by this woman.
“It’s disheartening, I mean the real victims here are the people from the community that have heard the stories, have tried to assist as best they can and in some cases what little they have and given the money across in the honest belief they are trying to help people.
The last photo she shared on her Instagram account had two hands holding onto each other. The caption read: “CONSTANT ˈkɒnst(ə)nt/adjective 1. Occurring continuously over a period of time. {unchangingly faithful and dependable.”
She received comforting comments and all followers were wishing her well. But after she appeared in court the only comments are those expressing anger and disgust.
One person commented: “DISGUSTING Adjective. 1. causing disgust; offensive to the physical, moral, or aesthetic taste.”
Another wrote: “Cannot believe you have done this. How did you get up everyday knowing you were ripping people off! People who genuinely wanted to help you!!! I hope you go to jail for a very long time, that way you will be able to think about what you have done!”
The 27-year-old has been granted bail as she had no criminal history. Magistrate Steven Mosh said that even though it was ‘an extraordinary set of circumstances’, the risk to the community would be minimal.
Wieland is will appear again in court in December.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section! SHARE this with your friends and family to warn others about such scams!
Recommended Video – “This Dance Inspires Millions Of Breast Cancer Survivors”