Fake cancer woman starved herself and shaved hair for two years to con friends and family out of thousands dollars

By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 2:50 PM on 15th September 2010

A fraudster conned well-wishers out of thousands of dollars by falsely claiming she had terminal cancer.

Ashley Anne Kirilow shaved her head and eyebrows and even starved herself to look like a chemotherapy patient during the two-year scam.

In a final insult to genuine cancer sufferers, the 23-year-old claimed she had just months to live and had 'Won't quit' tattooed on her knuckles.

But now Ashley has finally admitted her illness is a hoax and is set to appear in court in Canada on fraud charges.

The con artist claims she did it to get noticed and persuade her estranged parents to get back together.

She said: 'I know what I did was wrong but I was trying to get noticed.
'I was trying to get my family back together and I just didn't want to feel like I was nothing anymore.

'It went wrong, the story spread like crazy and then suddenly it seemed like the whole world knew about it.'

In late 2008 Ashley was treated for a benign lump in her breast but after the procedure she started telling friends she had breast cancer.

During the following months the compulsive liar went on to tell people she had brain cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer and ovarian cancer, at various stages and in various combinations.

In 2009 Ashley then called her father, Mike, who she hadn't seen for four years since the breakdown of her parents marriage.

Kirilow told him that she needed a bone marrow transplant or she would be dead in six months.

Her father was immediately suspicious.

He said: 'I had the feeling something wasn't right but I didn't feel I could say anything straight away.

'I spent the next 10 days trying to reach her and when I couldn't I left her a message saying I would tell the police to knock her door down.

'She called me back straight away and shouted at me to stay out of her life.

'I didn't hear from her again for more than a year.'

In the meantime Kirilow also contacted her biological mother, Cindy Edwards, who she had had little contact with since she was 14, to say she needed money for chemotherapy.

Her mother also smelled a rat. She said: 'The only thing she ever wanted from me was money, and I couldn?t ever give it to her.

'I was crying but I told her she was beautiful and that chemo was fully covered in Canada and she would be fine.

'Ashley then got angry and told me she was just calling to tell me before she died that I was the worst mother in the world.

'She was always desperate for attention and as a child always wanted to be a princess.

'She just wanted more and more no matter what we gave her.'

After failing to get money from her parents Ashley went on to convince her friend, Adam Catley, of her fatal illness and he let her live rent free with him for several months before organising a benefit at his father's pub.



The 22-year-old said: 'I really did believe her and obviously I wanted to do all I could to help.

'We raised more than 9,000 dollars with the benefit and the next day i gave her the money in an envelope.

'She was good, I'll give her that. She had me fooled 100 per cent.'

Weeks after the benefit Ashley started a charity Facebook group called Change for a Cure.

The group attracted a mass following of more than 4,000 kind-hearted people and it is thought more than 20,000 dollars was raised during various events under the name of the charity.

Ashley, who also built up more than 40,000 dollars of credit card debt, is thought to have spent all of the money raised through the charity.

Towards the end of last year, while charity events were still being held, Ashley posted a message on Facebook saying her cancer had worsened and this would be her last post.

In a last attempt to build a relationship with his daughter Mike phoned Ashley who then broke down on the telephone and admitted to her father the whole thing was a hoax.

He said: 'This is so embarrassing for us. I just hope she does the right thing now.

'She has loved playing the victim since she was a child and has always wanted to be famous.'

Ashley added: 'I dug myself into a hole I couldn't get out of.

'There is no one to blame but myself but I really want to find a way to give all of the money back.'

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1312245/Woman-admits-faking-cancer-collect-thousands-dollars-charity-donations.html