A Nevada mom admitted she lied about having pancreatic cancer and scammed more than $20,000 in donations from her kindhearted victims in the process.
Haleigh Knight pleaded guilty during a hearing on Monday, April 13, to a felony theft charge and admitted to lying about a cancer diagnosis so that she could set up fake fundraising pages to scam people into donating to her, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The con lasted between June 2023 and April 2024.
Prosecutors said that text messages showed Knight confessing to posing as different people to create GoFundMe accounts, and she reportedly used the funds to pay her bills and provide for her children.
One of Knight’s victims, Cydney Fink, said Knight apologized for what she did and told her it was like “she’s two different people and she can’t control it,” according to court documents viewed by KLAS.
“Haleigh states she faked having cancer so that Cydney and her family along with Haleigh’s family would feel guilty and more inclined to love and be around her if she claimed she was sick,” the documents read.
Victim Suzanne Duroy, who is a breast cancer survivor, told KSNV that she was “in shock” after she learned that Knight didn’t have cancer.
“I couldn’t believe it. I really could not believe it,” said Duroy, who first met Knight in 2022 while they were working at a surgery center.
Duroy explained that she relocated to Florida to care for her mother when Knight’s sister reached out to her about her fake cancer diagnosis. Duroy then became Knight’s “chemo angel” and sent her nearly $1,000 in gift cards and presents.
“It’s really not the money for me. It’s just the point, like I felt heartbroken for her,” Duroy said.
Rachel Riedel, another victim, called Knight a “sociopath” and said she “will scam you if she can touch you.”
“It infuriates me that she would take advantage of her community, of her family,” Riedel told the outlet.
After Knight pleaded guilty, she agreed to pay $19,787.12 in restitution as part of her plea deal, according to the Review-Journal.
If Knight pays the restitution, completes probation and other court requirements, she will be able to withdraw her felony plea, plead guilty to misdemeanor theft and receive credit for the time she served up until that point.
Knight’s sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place on June 24.
