Burlington Woman Arrested For Faking Cancer To Raise Money
Posted August 7, 2010 12:43 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A woman accused of pretending to have terminal cancer in order to solicit charitable donations turned herself over to Oakville police Friday night.
Ashley Anne Kirilow, 23, has admitted to shaving her head and plucking her eyebrows and eyelashes in order to make herself look like a cancer patient.
The plan began in 2008 when she had a benign lump removed from her breast. She began to claim she had many different varieties of cancer, stomach, liver, ovarian and brain. She had the words “won’t quit” tatooed on her knuckles.
The Burlington native has allegedly raised over $13, 000 in fraudulent charity money, through the organization “Change For A Cure.” She also received a free trip to Disney World through from Skate4Cancer.
In April, her father became suspicious. He gave her 30 days to reveal the truth.
Kirilow maintains the actual amount raised is $4, 000 maximum. Volunteers with the organization are working to collect testimonials from anyone who donated.
She has blamed this scam on an unhappy childhood, and says it began as a way to get revenge on her parents for mistreating her.
Kirilow declared bankruptcy in January after racking up $30, 000 in personal debt. She says she intended to donate the money before she ran into financial difficulties.
Police charged her with three counts of fraud under $5, 000.
On Saturday, she was ordered remanded into custody of the Vanier Detention Centre. Her next court appearance is Monday morning at the Milton courthouse.
You can find a list of registered charities by searching the Canada Revenue Agency’s Charity Listing database here.
