A 29-year-old woman faked having terminal cancer to make kindhearted people pay for her wedding.
Toni Standen from West Derby shaved her head and told reporters that cancer had already spread ‘everywhere.’
She also told her concerned friends that she wanted her father, who was genuinely sick, to walk her down the aisle at her dream wedding.
Standen’s kindhearted friends then decided to set up a GoFundMe page, asking people to donate so that she and her boyfriend James can have ‘a wedding they deserve.’
Her father, Derek, passed away before the wedding but a pre-recorded video was played during the ceremony.
But one guest noticed that Standen was just laughing after her father’s video was played.
“After hearing her father’s laboured words she got up and gave a faultless speech, even cracking a few jokes,” the guest shared.
“Her mother and brother were in bits. We’d all just listened to a father of the bride message from beyond the grave.”
Her lies were uncovered in April when she posted on social media that she was diagnosed with coronavirus.
Two of her friends decided to confront her, and that’s how they found out the truth.
“We rang her for a three-way conversation and recorded it. We asked her straight: ‘Have you really got cancer?’ one of the friends said.
“She started crying and admitted it was all lies. We ended the call and phoned the police straight away.”
The 29-year-old has since pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation from February 2019 to April 2020.
Cheryl Aston, Standen’s friend who donated more than $500, said: “She could have won an Oscar, her acting was that good. She fooled us all. We were all completely sucked in. She told me she was dying and I fell for it.
“She said she wanted her dad to walk her down the aisle before either of them died. Everyone pulled together. People didn’t have much but they wanted to give what they could.
“I wanted to help so badly but I couldn’t afford a lot. I asked her about doing a fundraiser. She said, ‘Yeah, yeah, every little helps.’”
District Judge Nicholas Sanders said Standen committed a ‘horrible breach of trust.’
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