A woman from California is pushing to get her money back after an Arizona mother faked her baby's cancer to make cash off the woman and other donors who stepped in to help her.
The California native said in an interview with FOX 11 that she was scammed hundreds of dollars by the fraud suspect. She even spent months planning a fundraiser for the alleged fraud suspect and her baby, who the El Monte woman, was told was going to die of cancer soon.
Alleged fraud victim Ashley Jimenez said that it is really heartbreaking as so many people came together that day with open hearts and open minds, but they were all manipulated.
Jimenez holds charity event to help baby who fraud suspect said was sick of cancer
All Jimenez wanted to do was to help baby Natalia, who the mom said was sick of cancer, so she went all out, holding a "Tacos for Cancer" event back in June 2022 at the San Gabriel Valley Airport.
Jimenez even landed sponsors for the fundraiser, teaming up with several vendors, including her own business, Tacos La Toxica. She explained that this would cost around $20,000 to $50,000 typically but this ended up for free.
Jimenez did all of this hard work for a woman, who she considered a friend at the time. The mom reached out to Jimenez, telling her that Baby Natalia needed help as she was battling a rare brain cancer.
She believed her friend, Monique Coria, as there was no reason to doubt her at the time. She also wanted to help Coria because her dad was also battling cancer. Jimenez said she did not think anything of Coria's plea back then.
Read Also : Mother and Daughter Team Up To Tackle Lack Of Affordable Housing For Senior Citizens in Nashville
Coria arrested in Arizona for fraud charges after faking baby's brain cancer
She was shocked to find out that Coria was arrested in Arizona for allegedly faking the brain cancer of her baby to rip off donors, even using a GoFundMe page to get money from her victims. Coria is now facing fraud charges.
When asked what message Jimenez would give to her former friend who betrayed her trust, she provided this strong response. She hopes Coria never has to go through what the cancer community experience every single day. She added that she wants justice and she wants everybody's hardworking money back.
Coria using cancer as a means to commit fraud is sickening given the serious nature of the disease and the high number of American families affected by it. According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overall cancer incidence rates were highest among Alaska Native (AI/AN) and non-Hispanic American Indian people during 2014 to 2018. They were followed closely by non-Hispanic Whites and non-Hispanic Blacks.
