KINGSTON, Jamaica — A US woman has been arrested and charged with fraud for allegedly engaging in a scheme to solicit over US$50,000 by falsely representing that she was stricken with terminal cancer.

Vedoutie Hoobraj, 38, told individuals that she had cancer and solicited money using GoFundMe pages and accepted money collected by a local high school and her community, all supposedly to fund her medical care.  

According to the United States Department of Justice, Hoobraj went to great lengths to hide behind her self-fabricated cancer diagnosis by falsifying medical records that she received treatment from legitimate doctors and hospitals and produced fake test results to support her claims.  

“Hoobraj’s alleged crime is not only an injustice to those who were kind enough to help her, but also to those who do truly need the support of their communities and may now be met with suspicion because of Hoobraj’s alleged behaviour,” the US justice department said.

She will be presented before a Magistrate in the Middle District of Florida where she faces a maximum prison term of 20 years.