Crime doesn't pay. Especially when your scamming good-hearted people with word cancer.

This Illinois woman just got caught for doing just that and is going to prison for 18 months.

I say good riddance and I'm glad she got caught for scamming people out of money.

According to the Associated Press, Melissa D. Baton was sentenced this past Monday, "after pleading guilty in October to two counts of felony theft by deception. She was indicted in 2014 on charges of soliciting funds from numerous donors for fraudulent cancer claims." 

Not only will Ms. Barton being going to prison she will also have to pay $1,300 in restitution for the money she stole for donors.

Melissa, claimed that she and her son both had cancer. Various online fundraising sites were set up to help her and her family as they dealt with the disease.

Also, she both asked for and received money from individuals, religious organizations and online donations.

Initially, Ms. Barton thought she had cancer when she found a lump in her breast. After having a biopsy done it was found to be benign. Yet, she kept up with the rouse to continue to dupe people into giving her money.

Records show that not only was she cancer free but so was her son yet she continued to scam others for money. In fact she went to another community 20 miles away and used her her cancer scam to gross money.

How she was found out was from a man who had a medical background. This man was going to set up a fundraising account for her when he noticed some of the things she was saying about her acute form of Leukemia and the treatments she was receiving were inconsistent with the actual process of cancer treatment.

Wow! She is some piece of work I tell ya.

I'm glad she got caught.

I hate cancer. It's an evil disease.

What I hate even more are people, like this woman, using it to benefit off of it. She's healthy as can be playing on peoples emotions to get money from them. Just awful.

That is the lowest thing a person can do. I know so many people who are effected by cancer and yes the bills are expensive for medicines, hospital stays, etc...

I'm glad justice has been served. I personally think it should have been longer and stronger but that's just me.

I was talking to my co-worker, Jonny J, about this story and he said "she should be made to work [for free] at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to see what cancer really is and what it does to families.

I honestly don't think that's a bad idea at all.

 

 

 

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