HULL WOMAN DUPES PUBLIC WITH FAKE CANCER SCAM, GETS 15 MONTHS BEHIND BARS
A lying Yorkshire mother completely fooled her own husband in a horrific lie that she was battling terminal cancer and had been given just 18 months to live.Shameless Stephanie Hunter gave heart-wrenching updates on her lung cancer, saying that it had spread to her brain - and she even had her head shaved and wore a scarf.
Her worried work colleagues felt so sorry for her that they arranged big fund-raising drives to send her on a VIP "last trip" to Disneyland Paris with her children, Hull Live reports.
The serial liar even took her husband to a funeral directors to make arrangements for her funeral, a court heard.
Hunter, 32, of Freemantle Avenue, Hull, admitted fraud and perverting the course of justice.
David Godfrey, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court that mother-of-three Hunter worked during 2016 as a telesales agent for ResQ in George Street, Hull.
But she reported as sick for work, provided a sick note for 21 days and pretended that she had cancer and needed lung surgery.
She later claimed that her treatment had not worked and that she needed aggressive chemotherapy for three months.
She gave dates when treatment would supposedly take place.
She was told to come to work only if she could cope and never worked a full month.
From January to September 2017, she never worked a full week.
Hunter told a boss that the cancer had spread to her neck and right lung and that she had four tumours on her brain.
She pretended that there was no cure and that she had 18 months to live.
In January 2017, she shaved her head and wore a head scarf.
She told a payroll manager that she had discharged herself from hospital to attend a work shift.
Her concerned colleagues began fund-raising "to give the family one last trip" and a JustGiving page was created.
"People, understandably, were very generous," said Mr Godfrey.
She said that she wanted to take her three children to Disneyland Paris.
Prize draws were organised, with prizes donated by local businesses, and considerable effort went to raising a total of £10,446.
Hunter was given a VIP trip to Disneyland Paris with first-class train travel, a journey by Eurostar and a five-star hotel on full board, with an upgraded restaurant pass as well as other hotel stays to make the journey easier.
The idea of contacting the local press was suggested but, pointedly, Hunter "thought this was a bad idea".
After the trip, it emerged that attempts to obtain medical confirmation of Hunter's condition failed.
Her statutory sick pay was stopped.
Social services became involved after concerns from a member of the public about her children and Hunter broke down and admitted that she had fabricated her story.
Hunter even fooled her husband, Jamie Wilkinson, and he believed that she had terminal cancer.
She pretended to him that she was going for appointments to Castle Hill Hospital.
"She even took him to a funeral directors for help in arranging her funeral," said Mr Godfrey.
"As a result of his wife's lies, he left the family home.
He feels great shame and embarrassment at what happened.
He is now in debt.
His family life has been shattered as a result of his former wife's lies." Hunter also pretended she had cancer while facing court action for rent arrears and possible eviction.
She claimed in 2017: "I have lung cancer and this has spread to my brain.
My diagnosis worsened in March when my condition became terminal." John Dunning, mitigating, said: "Once a lie starts and becomes established, it has a life, it seems, of its own.
By the time it came before Hull County Court, that lie was so entrenched that it would have been almost impossible for her to have resiled from it.
All of this offending must be seen through that prism.
She continued the lie and she took actions to support that lie.
So we have the situation where people's good nature has been abused, where they will feel that their charity, their willingness to give, has been taken advantage of and they, no doubt, themselves will feel particularly disillusioned and will feel a degree of disappointment, if not anger, with somebody who was a colleague." The total amount of money "taken advantage of" was just under £7,000.
Some was not spent.
"The original motivation for this was simply to have attention and sympathy," said Mr Dunning.
"She took sophisticated action in order to maintain the lie - shaving the head.
The motivating factor for this was a desire for attention." Hunter regretted her actions and said: "I never want to put myself in this position again." She had children aged 13, nine and eight.
She had no previous convictions but a psychiatrist believed she had an emotionally unstable personality.
Judge John Thackray QC said: "People's kindness and charitable nature has been completely abused.
It prevents people making genuine charitable donations in the future.
"You will undoubtedly have eroded trust going forward of those whom you conned and those who will be aware of this case to the detriment of genuine cancer victims." Harding was jailed for 15 months.
She sobbed as she was led from the dock.
She sobbed as she was led from the dock.
