A Georgia woman allegedly pretended she had terminal cancer in order to swindle kind-hearted members of her community out of thousands of dollars – even shaving her head to make the scam seem more credible.
Katie Lynn Shellhorse, of Cedartown, was arrested on suspicion of theft by deception Tuesday after she pocketed at least $15,000 in donations, Polk Today reported.
The 22-year-old mom of two allegedly used social media to advertise her imaginary plight, getting churches, friends and other community members to contribute towards the costs of non-existent medical bills, news station WSB-TV reported.
Shellhorse even shaved her hair off several times to make it look as if she was having chemotherapy.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she just had a baby and now she could potentially be dying, that’s so sad for her and her kids,’” a former high school classmate who donated to her fundraiser told Fox 5 Atlanta.
(Screenshot 11Alive Youtube)
But Shellhorse’s sick scheme started to unravel in April, when a family member told authorities that she had been lying all along while spending the scammed funds on alcohol and cannabis.
Shellhorse reportedly confessed to the entire charade on Facebook, but later deleted the post.
“I have been lying for the past 10 months about having cancer. There was never any cancer or any treatment. I deeply apologize for the hurt I caused everyone like my husband, family, friends and even strangers who were very kind to me,” she wrote, Polk Today reported.
Shellhorse’s own family said they were also led to believe she was dying from cancer.
“Our family has been devastated by this event. We had no foreknowledge of her plan to misguide and we will not defend it,” they said in a statement to 11Alive.
“We are deeply saddened that our community was deceived. We pray for all that were affected and believe that justice will be served.”
Shellhorse has been released from the Polk County Jail on a $1,000 bond.