Mom fakes cancer to get more than $25,000 in GoFundMe donations
A mother has been arrested and charged with fraud after it was alleged by police that she'd faked having cancer to gain monetary donations.
Tara Michelle Enoka, 35, was arrested earlier this month as police claimed that she had mislead donors into giving her thousands of dollars.
The police have alleged the Australian mother-of-four falsely claimed she was battling breast and cervical cancer and was in need of the money to put it towards her treatment.
However, she has since been charged with gaining benefit by fraud after her GoFundMe had raised more than $25,000.
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West Australian police have said that the GoFundMe page was initially created by a man who 'stated the fundraiser was to assist a woman who is known to him who had been diagnosed with a rare medical condition'.
Police further allege that Enoka had registered herself as the beneficiary of the money being raised.
Authorities have emphasized that there are no allegations that the man who created GoFundMe was aware the woman’s claims were not true.
Speaking to Newswire, a WA spokesman said: “Between March and September 2021, more than 500 people from 16 countries donated a total of just over $37,000.
"It will be further alleged between March 2021 and October 2021, the woman transferred more than $36,000 from the fundraiser to her personal bank account,”
“It will be alleged the woman had not been diagnosed with the medical condition as the fundraising account and supporting video claimed.”
Enoka had also posted a video on YouTube asking for funds for her medical treatment and used the hashtag #StandWithTara.
In the alleged video, she claims that she had 'never been the type to ask anybody for help', but that the money was needed for treatments to 'potentially save her life' so she could 'be here for her kids to watch them grow up'.
A GoFundMe spokesperson spoke to UNILAD and insisted that they are working diligently to ensure all donors get their money back.
They also reiterated how seriously they take the issue and confirmed that Enoka has been banned from the platform.
The spokesperson said they have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for misuse of the platform and will be completely cooperating with the police.
They said: “All donors will be proactively refunded and we have removed this fundraiser. The beneficiary has also been banned from using the platform for any future fundraisers.
"GoFundMe’s Giving Guarantee offers a full refund in the rare case when something isn’t right; this is the first and only donor protection guarantee in the crowd-funding industry.“
UNILAD has contacted the WA police for further comment.
Gerrard Kaonga