A Pennsylvania beauty queen was arrested and jailed on charges she faked having leukemia in order to benefit from fundraisers, the Associated Press reported. 23-year-old Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, of State College, Penn. was arraigned Tuesday on charges of theft by deception and receiving stolen property. The beauty queen took part in fundraisers that were supposed to be for her treatment. The most recent fundraiser was held in April and raised $14,000, Police told CNN.
Weaver-Gates lead everyone to believe that she had been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in March 2013. She shaved her head and had family members drive her to a hospital, where she would wait and then return hours later to appear as though she got treatment, NBC 10 in Philadelphia reported.
The fallen queen was officially stripped of her Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International crown, according to a statement posted on Butler's Beauties, the pageant organizers official Facebook page. We at Butler's Beauties are saddened to hear of the news of Miss Brandy Weaver-Gates. We were also led to believe that she was dealing with this horrible disease and stood by her as she struggled being a beauty queen and a cancer patient," the post read.
"Effectively immediately, Ms. Weaver-Gates is no longer a representative of the Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International organization and will be required to return her crown and sash upon her release from being detained," the organization wrote.
Police have asked the public to come forward if they donated any money to Weaver-Gates.
