Mary Bennett is 23 years old. This American nurse from the city of Cumming (in the United States) suffers from a terrible disease: a ovarian cancer, stage IV. This is the most serious form: in stage IV, the tumor, which begins in the ovaries, spreads to distant organs such as the pleura (the envelope of the lungs), the liver … Some metastases measure more than 2 cm in diameter and the pelvic nodes are affected.
Except that Mary Bennett lied: she is in perfect health. The young woman invented an extremely serious cancer in order to raise money, counting on the crowdfunding Internet users.
It is indeed on Facebook that the American developed her scam: on her personal page, we find tearful comments (“It’s terrible to live with cancer so young. But this is already the second time that I go through this ordeal, it made me humble and wise. ”), photos of his shaved head and eyebrows“ because of the chemo », Heart-rending calls for help, photos of dressings, bandages …
Justice has discovered the truth
And Internet users have fallen for the trap. In total, Mary Bennett raised € 23,000 ($ 25,000) in donations. Thanks to this money, she made a parachute jump (graciously offered by a company moved by her fate), a hot-air balloon ride (ditto), participated in charity dinners, trips and fishing parties organized in her honor, went free to the cinema, the theater, the opera … She also received many messages from celebrities wishing her a speedy recovery.
Fortunately, justice ended up discovering the pot aux roses, in particular thanks to certain disturbing inconsistencies: absence of scars, medical file, false signatures, false official documents … Mary Bennett is today prosecuted for theft, forgery and use. false. According to investigators, the scam had been going on since 2010.