Mother fakes cancer to cheat family and charity in 'cruel' fraud
A mother-of-three faked a terminal illness – even lying to her own children – to cheat family, colleagues and a cancer charity out of thousands of pounds, a court heard.
Helen Knight claimed she had stage four leukaemia, obtaining medical supplies and false doctors' notes on the internet to back up her web of lies.
Colleagues at Walton High School, Stafford, where she worked in the kitchen, held a collection, presenting her with flowers and organising a welfare visit to her home in a show of sympathy and support.
Knight took out personal loans worth £3,000 in the name of her autistic son and successfully applied to the Macmillan Trust for cash, receiving £440 from the cancer charity.
She also stole more than £2,000 from work colleagues after setting herself up as an agent for a Christmas savings club but instead pocketed the money entrusted to her, Stafford Crown Court heard.
The 42-year-old fastened tubes and applied bandages to herself to back up her version of the facts, said Ms Sara Cook, prosecuting. She also applied to her employers, Compass Catering, for sickness benefit and received £160.
But her story began to unravel after she was admitted to hospital for a genuine unrelated health matter, prompting concerned family to tell doctors about her supposed leukaemia diagnosis. They were shocked to be told there was no mention of cancer on her medical records.
As a result, family members went to her home to investigate, where they found evidence of her deceit, and subsequently contacted the police.
A Macmillan spokesman said they felt 'sadness' that anyone should cheat the charity in such a way and spoke of the detrimental impact on genuine cancer patients.
In a victim impact statement, the school kitchen team said they were 'angry and disappointed' on finding out the extent of the lies she told.
Knight, of no fixed address but formerly of Sandon Road Stafford, admitted three counts of fraud – against her son, Compass Catering and the Macmillan Trust – and three charges of theft in relation to the Christmas Club savings, all committed between 2015 and 2017.
The court heard she was of previous good character but had been suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offences and was remorseful. But the judge called it a 'sophisticated fraud' and said he regarded her 'moral culpability' as very high.
Jailing her for a year suspended for 18 months, Recorder Mr Benjamin Nicholls told her: "You betrayed your son, your friends, your employer and you cheated a charity, and stole from people who trusted you.
"You spun a tale that you had stage four leukaemia even to your own children – that was a particularly cruel thing to do."
In addition, Knight was made the subject of a 12-month community order and told to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. She was also ordered to pay compensation to the Christmas Club victims.
