Woman Pleads Guilty To Theft After Faking GoFundMe Cancer Story

UWCHLAN TOWNSHIP, PA — A Chester County woman has admitted to authorities she used GoFundMe and Facebook to solicit $12,000 by saying she was being treated for cancer and needed money for bills.

Jessica Cornell Smith, 33, of Chester Springs, was sentenced to probation and restitution after pleading guilty, on Jan. 4, to Theft by Deception and Forgery, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office. She has also been admitted to the County's Mental Health Protocol Program (MHP).

Cornell Smith used GoFundMe and Facebook to solicit funds by claiming she was being treated for cancer and needed money for her insurance deductible, bills, and childcare, the D.A.'s report said. On a separate occasion, she submitted a letter to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (CYF) that was purportedly signed by a CHOP doctor, according to the report.

Uwchlan Township police were tipped off to the scam by Cornell Smith's husband and a friend, both of whom were aware of the fundraisers and knew the defendant did not have Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer and was not being treated at Abramson Cancer Center, the report said.

Police recovered bank records showing deposits from PayPal and medical records that did not indicate a cancer diagnosis. The district attorney's report said Smith received more than $12,000 in solicited funds.

The Forgery charge stemmed from a separate incident in which Cornell Smith falsified a physician statement in order to suggest her child's father was guilty of child abuse.

The district attorney said Cornell Smith claimed a letter was signed by a CHOP physician when her child was treated at a CHOP Urgent Care for bug bites. The letter that was sent to CYF falsely stated that the injuries on the child were a "clear indication of child neglect and abuse and would be cause for a Children and Youth Family Services report against the father."

Cornell Smith was sentenced this week to three years of probation, admitted to MHP, and is required to return $4,375 to GoFundMe and $8,311 to Facebook for the Theft by Deception charge, the district attorney's report said.

She was sentenced to one year of probation for the Forgery charge, according to the same report.

Her probation requires that she pay court costs, have no contact with GoFundMe or Facebook, have no contact with any CHOP facility or employee or with a person identified in the court docket as R.S. She also must write letters of apology to R.S. and to a Dr. P.W.

Uwchlan Township Police and Westtown-East Goshen Police investigated the two cases.

Deputy District Attorney Erik Walschburger and Assistant District Attorney Jessica Acito handled the prosecution.