Mindy Taylor is a 35-year-old mother from Chillicothe, Ohio who was charged with felony theft for pretending to have cancer and collecting $21,000 in donations from her family, friends and neighbors.
Based on reports, Taylor convinced everyone that she knew including her spouse that she had intestinal cancer. She maintained a blog and updated her donors and supporters about her daily struggles with the disease. In one of her blog posts, she wrote: "Sleep eludes me yet again. I want to thank everyone for the kind words and the Chillicothe Gazette for making my story public to help others in the same boat."
Taylor's fundraiser blog on CaringBridge.org was able to raise money from a group of people called "Mindy's Army." Her supporters even purchased wristbands with her name. "Mindy's Army: No One Fights Alone," her YouCaring website was able to raise $1,300. Taylor's mother also put up an online fundraiser which was able to raise $13,000. Her mom then hosted a dinner for a cause in Smithton, Pennsylvania and collected $7,000.
Taylor claimed she was fighting lupus and a heart disease while undergoing chemotherapy. However, when her story was published, someone tipped the police and said she was lying. The feature said it was good that Taylor was able to amass a group of supporters because she was fighting three serious health conditions and the having a health insurance is not financially enough to cover for the cost of treatment.
The tip prompted the police to investigate Taylor and subpoena her medical records, which revealed that she was never diagnosed with cancer. She had a stroke and was diagnosed with lupus when she was younger, though.
Taylor appeared on local TV where she admitted her wrongdoing. She also disclosed that she has supposedly started to pay people back. Taylor said she does not want to lose her daughter. "Okay, I did this. I will take the onus for whatever they want me to do. I will do it. I am not a bad person. I have never even served detention. I want to go back to being a law abiding citizen. I do want to clear my name," Taylor said. "If I fight this in court, I lose big. I do not want to lose my daughter. If I can take the easy way out I will, so I can spare my family any more embarrassment."
Taylor has applied for diversion, which requires her to admit her wrongdoing and repay the donations she got so charges against her would be dropped. Evidence shows that Taylor had a cosmetic procedure and bought furniture while she was raising donations. There is no proof that Taylor has started paying money back to her donors.
