A BRITISH WOMAN has been arrested over allegations she lied about having advanced cervical cancer in order to raise money to fund her wedding.
Danielle Watson, 22, was arrested at her Essex home on Friday and released on bail shortly afterwards.
Police arrested Watson on suspicion of false representation after donors grew suspicious that she had faked the disease when she recently announced on Twitter that she was pregnant, reports the Daily Mail.
Watson’s campaign saw her receive a reported £6,000 for a private course of what was termed ‘intravenous Vitamin C treatment’, which she claimed was her last chance to beat the disease due to its advanced stage. A charity ball was held in her honour, with tickets costing £45, to raise money and awareness about cervical cancer, according to the Huffington Post.
Speaking about the illness to a local paper, Watson said: “As soon as I was told I had stage four cancer I thought about Jade Goody and what happened to her. She was older than me and she still died. Is this going to happen to me?”
Reality TV star Jade Goody died from cervical cancer in 2009.
Essex Police have confirmed that a 22-year-old woman had been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation, and had been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Watson has denied the allegations.
Last April in New York, 25-year-old Jessica Vega was indicted on charges of fraud and grand larceny for getting her “dream wedding” by falsely claiming she was dying of leukaemia.
It was claimed that Vega had claimed she had just a few months to live because she wanted a “dream wedding” to the father of her year-old daughter.
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