A 31-year-old woman in western Pennsylvania is accused of faking terminal cancer and even claiming to be in a coma - all in order to scam her then-boyfriend out of $40,000.

WJAC-TV reports the perfectly healthy suspect, identified as Michelle Zipp of Bedford County, Pa., is now charged with theft by deception. She was briefly jailed before someone made her $50,000 bail.

Zipp allegedly told her then-boyfriend, who is not publicly identified, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and didn't have the money for needed surgeries, WJAC wrote, citing law enforcement.

The lengths she went in order to allegedly scam the boyfriend out of a total of $40,000 included claiming to be treated at a hospital where she was never a patient and faking texts from nurses on her cellphone.

At one point, one of the fake nurse's texts informed the boyfriend that Zipp was in a "medically induced coma." However, the same day, state police have records of making a traffic stop involving Zipp, WJAC reports.

In the end, the only illness was a lovesick boyfriend, Bedford County Bill Higgins told WJAC:

"She basically exploited a romantic relationship with him to the point that they were engaged, or she said they were engaged to be married," Higgins said.

"I guess he's a very good-natured person," Higgins added of the boyfriend. "Wanted to help somebody. Thought he was in love. Thought she was in love with him, and invested an awful lot of money into a fictitious story."

Explained Higgins: "This is sometimes what happens when good people who want to help others fall victim to bad people who want to steal from others. Be careful who you're trusting."