This makes me sick...

SopChick

I'm not sure how much coverage this is getting in the US, but it's all over the news up here, and I am too disgusted for words.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/844614

Apparently no one posted bail for her at the hearing today. I can't say I blame them.

bethsmiles

Wow...that is awful. Running a fake charity is such a horrible thing to do and there are so many now adays that it makes me nervous about donating to any I don't know really well.

SopChick

The news reports up here are now trying to educate people about how to tell if a charity is legitimate. I'm sure there will be a backlash of people having trouble trusting charities. It's just so sad. I'm sure I'm being naive, but I find it so hard to comprehend how someone could bring themself to do something like this.

bethsmiles

Its done quite often actually. Especially around disasters. It happened a lot around 9/11 and the earthquake in Hati. Its really important to know that the charity you are donating to is legit.

Hazel_B

That's all I have heard about on the news this morning.

Sadly, it happens more frequently than I ever expected it would. My co-worker's daughter is 14 or 15 and another student in her class faked cancer. Had the entire class, the teacher and the school doing everything they could for her. Her parents had no idea, they thought shaving her head was part of a fashion statement that she was trying to make.

loves2shop4shoes

I can *almost* understand lying to get attention, if you're desperate enough...but to accept people's money for a bogus charity is so wrong.  There are no words.  That money could have gone to ACTUAL cancer research, and instead it went to funding her vacations.

That girl should be thrown in prison and sterilized.

bsidebella

Oh my goodness Gaga. What a fascinating story (I don't mean that in a positive way).

Is it weird that this reminds me of an episode of "Law & Order SVU"? There was one when a woman was slowly poisoning her granddaughter with mercury (which mimicks lukemia symptoms) to get money from charity. That being said, you see things about this in TV shows, but someone actually doing this to the extreme is mind-blowing.

This girl is smart. I'm not saying what she did was right but to siphon thousands of dollars from strangers based on a lie and even get a trip to Disney World out of it...that takes a special kind of cunning. And that makes someone like her very dangerous. Lock her up in a psychiatric ward and throw away the key.

PaigeMcC

BAH! I've been hearing about this on the news and reading it in the paper.  It's sick and makes me want to kick her.  But at the same time you have to wonder WTF was going on in her head that made her think it was okay to do this.  Chick needs her head examined.

dwest2201

That is infuriating!  I've lost so many loved ones to cancer and seen them suffer through the real physical and mental stress that the sickness and treatments do to their bodies.  For someone to fake it and take tons of money that could have gone to actual cancer research and saving lives makes me very, very angry.

SopChick

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_this-sick?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:1242c127-9744-4dde-8fc4-74af52e1315bPost:70780a96-5a0d-46ba-b400-df5f8544363f">Re: This makes me sick...</a>:
[QUOTE]BAH! I've been hearing about this on the news and reading it in the paper.  It's sick and makes me want to kick her.  <strong>But at the same time you have to wonder WTF was going on in her head that made her think it was okay to do this.  Chick needs her head examined.</strong>
Posted by PaigeMcC[/QUOTE]

That's exactly what I've been thinking. There is something seriously wrong when you have no conscience about what you're doing.

<strong>Hazel</strong>, that's terrible! I think it would make it so hard to trust that person ever again! Did she have serious repercussions?

<strong>dwest </strong>- I'm very sorry you have lost so many people to cancer. It has affected many of my loved ones too, which I think is partly why I feel as disgusted as I do by this woman's actions.

I have seen a few comments that she should have to do community service in a hospice or oncology ward of a hospital. While I agree she should be made to see the severity of what she has done, I wouldn't want to subject the patients to her.

Hazel_B

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_this-sick?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:1242c127-9744-4dde-8fc4-74af52e1315bPost:7f378317-24f0-40b9-9c6e-f54163701f3d">Re: This makes me sick...</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: This makes me sick... : That's exactly what I've been thinking. There is something seriously wrong when you have no conscience about what you're doing. <strong>Hazel , that's terrible! I think it would make it so hard to trust that person ever again! Did she have serious repercussions?</strong> dwest - I'm very sorry you have lost so many people to cancer. It has affected many of my loved ones too, which I think is partly why I feel as disgusted as I do by this woman's actions. I have seen a few comments that she should have to do community service in a hospice or oncology ward of a hospital. While I agree she should be made to see the severity of what she has done, I wouldn't want to subject the patients to her.
Posted by SopChick[/QUOTE]

Sadly, I don't think so. I'm not sure what you can really do to a 14 year old for doing something like that. I believe the school offered counseling to the rest of the class due to the trust issues. A couple weeks later the counsellors were back because another girl in the class attempted suicide. She tooks pills on a school trip with other girls in the room at the hotel, It sounded most like a cry for help/attention because she made the other girls aware of what she had done. Fortunately she was okay, I'm not sure what happened after that though.

dwest2201

Sop, I can't even begin to express how disgusted I am by this, there are no words. 

aperitisa

Wow....I'm speechless. 

GreenPepperBurger

The side by side photo is sickening.

SopChick

I'm sorry if posting this caused any of you to be upset (beyond the disgust at her actions), I just couldn't, and still can't, believe it. It just makes me shake my head that people can do things like this...

bananapudding91

That is HORRIBLE. It's terrifying to me to know that people out there are simply psychotic enough to do something this terrible.
She needs a much better therapist, strong meds, and a LOT of alone time in a padded cell. Or at least something to make her think- but if she's this bad already, nothing will change her.
Such a shame. She's a very pretty girl, and obviously not dumb. But she makes stupidly psychotic decisions.

Bec20

Wow.  Just... wow.  Obviously, this is horrible.  But clearly that girl is capable of pulling something major off.  I'd hate to see what else she could do if she really wanted to.

flyjawn

as repulsive as this whole story is, i really think this girl is mentally ill or suffering from a very serious personality disorder.

so depressing all around.

but seriously, in the day and age, why would anyone hand over such large amounts of cash to someone without ever asking for more info??  all you have to do is ask for their charitable #?!!

SopChick

I think a lot of the money she got came from friends and family - which IMO makes it worse! I definitely agree that she needs some serious help.