A 23-year-old Melbourne woman who faked cancer to fund her party lifestyle has been jailed.
Hanna Dickenson had raised NZ$43,976 since she was 19 by convincing friends and family she had a rare cancer called soft tissue sarcoma.
Dickenson asked for financial help for "cancer treatment" - but actually put the money she raised towards overseas trips, drugs and alcohol.
After managing to convince her parents she was terminally ill, they rallied together to raise money for her, 7 News reports.
One victim of the scam gave her four payments of $5200, while one victim, who was actually a cancer patient himself, gave her $10,500.
7 News reports that Dickenson arrived at court with her mother, who is one of the people she scammed - and pleaded guilty to seven charges of obtaining property by deception.
Although Dickenson had paid back NZ$15,000 prior to appearing in court this week, she was sentenced to three months in jail, with a 12-month community corrections order.
The case has been likened to that of disgraced beauty and wellness blogger Belle Gibson, who built a successful business by claiming natural treatments helped her survive cancer.
Gibson chronicled her battle with cancer on a blog, The Whole Pantry, which spawned an app and recipe book. But doubts about her claims surfaced after she failed to deliver a promised $300,000 donation to charity, and in 2015 it was revealed she had made it up.
The Australian Federal Court ordered Gibson to pay a total of NZ$432,000.
Newshub.
