Mom altered medical records to falsely claim her daughter had cancer, Ohio cops say
An Ohio woman was arrested after officials say she lied about her daughter having cancer in order to get donations.
The woman has been charged with theft by deception, according to a Facebook post by the Noble County Sheriff’s Office.
According to an affidavit, the Pleasant City woman told her daughter’s school that her daughter had cancer and was blind in one eye. She also provided documentation to the school, showing the diagnosis, officials said.
However, the school “expressed concerns” after it conducted an eye exam on the 7-year-old girl, court documents said.
The school contacted the medical provider listed on the documentation, who confirmed that the girl did not have leukemia and never had any form of cancer, according to the court documents.
The girl’s mother had posted numerous posts on Facebook about her daughter’s cancer, court documents said. Fundraisers were held to help with medical expenses and one cancer organization donated $8,000 to the woman and her daughter, officials said.
On Jan. 8, the woman was arrested and interviewed by officials and initially denied that she fabricated the diagnosis, but later admitted to it, according to court documents.
The woman told officials she shaved her daughter’s hair off and it was not due to a medical condition. She also admitted to obtaining seizure medications from doctors because of what she reported to them, the court records said.
She admitted to altering documents from medical providers to say that the girl had leukemia and sent that document to the girl’s school, officials said.
The woman is scheduled back in court on Jan. 16, according to WCMH.
Pleasant City is about 90 miles east of Columbus.
This story was originally published January 14, 2024 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Mom altered medical records to falsely claim her daughter had cancer, Ohio cops say."
