Cancer Fraud Gambler Sentenced in Canada
Tina Sammons, a woman from Victoria, was sentenced to three years in prison for swindling over $350,000 from family, friends and acquaintances.
Sammons used nearly all the money to fund her gambling habit at local casinos.
The 37 year old told her family and friends that she needed the money to fund chemotherapy and organ transplants because, as an American citizen, she was not covered by Canada's health system.
To convince people that she was really suffering from cancer and other diseases, she would shave her head and wear bandages, the court heard.
She also forged letters from health authorities to make it look as if she was undergoing treatment.
Sammons was eventually found out after her brother in law became suspicious of her behaviour and hired a private investigator to get to the bottom of the case.
The woman was arrested in November and found guilty. She was sentenced last week after the Crown sought between three and five years.
She was also ordered to repay her victims, including her own in-laws who went $100,000 into debt in order to help her.
Sammons' husband said that despite the fraud and trickery, he still loved his wife and begged the judge to lower her sentence - to no avail.
