Photo credit: Facebook Hanna Dickenson

An Australian woman named Hanna Dickenson (24 years old) has been jailed for three months after she had scammed both her own friends and family as well as many other Australians out of $31,000 to pay for her fake terminal cancer treatment.

Instead, she used the monies received on overseas trips and socializing with friends.

The Melbourne Magistrates' Court was told that Miss Dickenson had told her own parents (who run a pistachio farm near Swan Hill in northwest Victoria) she would not survive and got them to ask their friends for money as well.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">23-year-old Hanna Dickenson spent the money on overseas trips, drugs and alcohol, all the while telling her loved ones it was for cancer treatment. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7News</a> <a href="https://t.co/604FnpKRvI">pic.twitter.com/604FnpKRvI</a></p>— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) <a href="https://twitter.com/7NewsMelbourne/status/983664542898012161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2018</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Magistrate Mr David Starvaggi explained that Miss Dickenson had "engaged in conduct that tears at the very heartstrings of human nature".

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/21854-Mother-s-Pregnancy-Triggers-Rare-Disease-Neurofibromatosis-Graphic

"People's desire to assist and social trust has been breached. These are people who worked hard and dug into their own pockets."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My child & I are legitimate (with proof)of our many 16yr struggles/battles & this wannabe only gets 4 months jail for being fake?<br><br>The justice system is truly stuffed!!<br><br>Cancer fraud jailed over 'despicable' $42k scam of family friends <a href="https://t.co/tyARnjMWT0">https://t.co/tyARnjMWT0</a></p>— Karen #SPNFAMILY (@karen_jesser) <a href="https://twitter.com/karen_jesser/status/983786852330102786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2018</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One man who survived cancer himself gave Miss Dickenson a sum of $10,000 whilst another paid her monies on four separate occasions.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/21647-Bride-Shaves-Head-Before-Her-Wedding-to-Honor-Mom-Who-Died-from-Cancer#21657

The case has been compared to that of Australian celebrity blogger Miss Belle Gibson who ran a similar scam, receiving $350k to fund her own luxury lifestyle.

Source:

https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/woman-faked-cancer-holiday/