A woman who faked having terminal cancer in a bid to get donations from friends and family for a dream wedding has reportedly been jailed for the scheme.
Handing down a five month jail sentence, District Judge Nicholas Sanders told 29-year-old Toni Standen of Cheshire that her behavior was appalling, according to BBC.
“You continued to embellish that tissue of lies, saying you had weeks to live. I don’t accept you couldn’t stop. Not only did you not stop, you made it worse by giving newspaper interviews to engender public sympathy,” Sanders said to Standen, who admitted last month to lying about the diagnosis, according to the report.
“Every right thinking member of society would be appalled by your behavior,” he added. (RELATED: FDA Has Delayed Approval Process For Promising Cancer Drug For Months Because Of COVID)
Woman faked terminal cancer for £8,500 dream wedding – and even shaved her headhttps://t.co/3RJThBU27q
— Sunday Mirror (@TheSundayMirror) November 28, 2020
Standen went to desperate lengths to convince friends and family of her diagnosis, even shaving her head, according to BBC.
Standen informed friends in June of 2015 that she had been diagnosed with terminal vaginal cancer and regularly provided updates with such “clarity and detail” that friends and family didn’t question the diagnosis, according to the report.
Around the same time Standen’s father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and Standen reportedly told friends that she wanted to get married before her dad died.
Friends set up a GoFundMe, and Standen’s story received attention after she was interviewed by local and national media outlets, BBC reported.
However, friends reportedly grew suspicious after the wedding and Standen eventually admitted to the scheme in a recorded phone call.
“Her friends rallied round her which was such a nice thing but it was an abuse of trust,” Neil Colville of the Crown Prosecution Service said, according to BBC.