Are Cancer Fraudsters Desperate or Psychopathic?

Aug. 12, 2010 -- It's a familiar story: People reach out to friends and family on Facebook or on a blog to say they have cancer and need help paying for treatments, or for last wishes. Those friends and family members then reach out to others, and donations come pouring in.

But it turns out many of these people aren't sick at all and now stand accused of lying about illnesses to con people out of money.

Ashley Kirilow is one of the latest alleged perpetrators. Kirilow's father told "Good Morning America" that his 23-year-old daughter posted a message on her Facebook page telling people she was dying and asking for donations for a charity called Change for a Cure. He said he confronted her about it, and she admitted to not having cancer at all. According to Canada's Halton Regional Police Service, which is handling the case, Kirilow is now charged with three counts of fraud less than $5,000 and one count of fraud more than $5,000. She will appear in court again Aug. 19. Police said they do not yet know who Kirilow's attorney is.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, she admitted to the hoax and said she did it to get attention and to get back at her family for her unhappy childhood.

Kirilow's Facebook page is still active, and is peppered with hate-filled messages.

Early last year, 37-year-old Dina Leone of Baltimore also reached out to friends on Facebook and told them she had stage four stomach cancer. She asked her old classmates to donate money to help her out with doctor visits, treatments and living out her final wishes.

Baltimore County prosecutors said the whole story was a lie, and charged Leone with theft and conspiracy. Calls to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's office and to Leone's attorney weren't returned, but according to Baltimore's ABC2, Leone pleaded guilty to the charges and is awaiting sentencing. She could spend up to 15 years in prison. She told Baltimore's WJZ-TV she lied because her husband was abusive, a charge Patrick Leone denied through his attorney.

In 2008, Chattanooga, Tenn., city employee Keele Maynor kept an online blog detailing her struggles with breast cancer. Authorities said she lied about having cancer and received donations of money and services from a local hospital and charity organizations. She was charged with nine felony counts of theft and forgery.

Her lawyer, Stuart Brown, said she received a sentence of 3½ years in prison, but the maximum she'll serve is 25 months. He also said she must pay back $30,000 of the money she received, even though he said she probably owed $150,000.

"She's doing well under the circumstances," said Brown. "She understands the sentence and is very repentant." He also said she'd receive counseling while in prison.