woman faked cancer to fund drug habit

Herion Addict Faked Cancer

For two years, a Medford, Long Island woman told friends and family that she had cancer. Locals held fundraisers and businesses collected donations on her behalf.

Brittany Ozarowski allegedly told people that she needed the funds to cover her cancer treatment and medicine at the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Ozarowski, 21, was arrested on April 1 and faces a 24 count indictment.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney, the entire affair was a lie and that Ozarowski had instead used the money for her heroin addiction.

“There was no cancer, no chemotherapy, no radiation and no medical bills,” Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said in a statement. “There was just heroin.”

“In September of 2011, I was diagnosed with stage two ovarian cancer as well as stomach cancer,” Ozarowski wrote on her website. “I was cancer free until they had found a tumor on my left hip in February 2012. That is when I found out that I have bone cancer. The cancer has spread to my spine as well as my brain.”

Ozarowski asked for donations via a Paypal button on her website:

No donation is too big nor too small, anything at all would help greatly. If there is anyway you can help to donate anything or help with fundraising it would be greatly appreciated very much by both my family and I. Thank you very much for your generosity. You can easily donate by clicking on the PayPal “Donate” button below. All major credit cards are accepted. PayPal does not require you to have an account with them to donate.

Charges include scheming to defraud, forgery, filing false statements and grand larceny.

Two fundraisers for Ozarowski raised nearly $8,000, including donations from a cancer survivor. Over two dozen local stores and businesses allowed her to place cash donation jars.

“They believed that she desperately needed this money for her chemotherapy and her radiation to fight the cancer,” he said.

The scheme fooled her family as well. Her father emptied his retirement accounts. Her grandmother sold her home and gave her over $100,000.

According to Yahoo News, Ozarowski was arrested on April 1 and indicted on 24 counts, including grand larceny, forgery and fraud charges. She is being held at the Suffolk County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

On The Web:

Brittany Ozarowski Allegedly Faked Cancer For Heroin Money, According To DA
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/brittany-ozarowski-cancer-heroin-lie-hoax-long-island-new-york_n_3054786.html

Woman faked cancer to fund heroin habit, authorities say
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/cancer-fake-heroin-scam-143010101.html