Fraud charge for woman accused of faking illness to raise money

CTV Toronto: Woman made up fake illness Deceiving friends and family, a 39-year-old woman appeared in court. Zuraidah Alman on the lie she told to receive over $100K in donations.

A Burlington, Ont. woman is facing fraud charges after raising money to treat what police say was a "fabricated" illness.

Halton Regional Police said the woman told her family and friends she had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, an immune disorder that attacks the nervous system. The disorder is also called chronic relapsing polyneuropathy and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy.

The disease is believed to be due to immune cells attacking the body's nerves instead of foreign infections. Those who have the disease experience tingling, numbing, pain, muscle weakness, fatigue and loss of reflexes.

Police said the woman told friends and family she needed money for experimental treatment in the U.S., and her loved ones helped her to set up a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe.com.

The page was started in November 2014, and had raised $126,594 as of Thursday afternoon. The page's goal is to raise $1.6 million.

A message on the GoFundMe site said the woman was diagnosed with the illness three years ago, and that the disease involves countless surgeries, medications and close medical supervision.

The page said she had lost her sight completely, suffered a stroke and experienced organ failure. It said her speech was also impaired by the illness.

It said medications include a cocktail of drugs costing approximately $7,100 per week.

A YouTube video published on the site said her life is "literally dependent on the generosity of others."

The video slideshow features photos of the woman posing with family members, and says she's in "excruciating pain every day."

Police said they were advised of the case by a local journalist, who was concerned about the validity of the charity.

Fraud officers looked into the woman's medical records and found she had never been diagnosed with or treated for the disease.

Cynthia Lynn Smith, 39, has been charged with defrauding the public of more than $5,000.

"Our investigation would indicate Smith acted on her own creating this deception, using the unsuspecting assistance of her family and friends and the generosity of the public," Det. Sgt. Troy Izlakar said in a statement on Thursday.