A New York woman who ran a cancer scam to get money to feed her drug addiction has pleaded guilty to her 24-count indictment charging her with grand larceny, forgery and more, the Associated Press reports.
Brittany Ozarowski, 21, sought out donations from her community, including local business owners, to set up tip jars and an online fund to help pay for her alleged treatments. She claimed she was fighting cancer, and no one questioned her because of her frail appearance. Ozarowski reportedly raised thousands of dollars through tip jars and a PayPal account.
However, Ozarowski couldn't keep her story straight, changing the type of cancer from bone to ovarian, causing many to question her motives. Ozarowski was eventually arrested and faced up to seven years in prison, according to AP. She pleaded guilty on all 24-counts on Monday as Judge John Iliou said he would sentence her to a drug treatment program and two years probation to get her the help she needs.
"Ozarowski's wide range of victims even included members of her own family, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said. After convincing her father and grandmother that she was suffering from cancer, her grandmother gave her more than $100,000 and her father exhausted his retirement savings, investigators said in April," The Examiner reports.
Ozarowski was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victims she scammed for donations.
"This was a despicable scam," Spota said. "There was no cancer, no chemotherapy, no radiation and no medical bills. There was just heroin."
Her attorney, George Duncan, told AP his client had not used heroin since her arrest in April and "looks like a totally different person. She's terribly remorseful. She's horrified and embarrassed."
"[It's] an appropriate sentence given the nature of her offenses, which were morally reprehensible," Duncan told AP. "Her acceptance into a judicial diversion program is exactly what she needs."
