Brit Who Stole $55K in Cancer Fraud to Go Gambling to Repay Only $6

Posted on: June 28, 2022, 08:45h. 

Last updated on: June 28, 2022, 10:39h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Under the guise of suffering from ovarian cancer, a woman from the UK bilked over 700 people out of money that she spent gambling. She received around £45,000 (US$55,000), but will only have to repay £5 ($6.10).

Nicole Elkabbas
Nicole Elkabbas in a file photo. The UK comedian duped hundreds into donating money for cancer treatment that she used to gamble and take lavish trips. (Image: The Sun)

Nicole Elkabbas pretended she had cancer and tricked hundreds of people into donating to her care and recovery. However, in 2020, during the trial at The Crown Court in Canterbury, prosecutors accused her of earning around £360,000 (US$439,596), possibly more.

The 44-year-old woman received a sentence of two years in prison for her crimes. She won’t have to worry about making reparations, though. She apparently wasted all of that fortune and is now destitute.

A Cancerous Growth

Five years ago, Elkabbas, an established comedian who had made several TV appearances, faked ovarian cancer. She then asked for donations online to face her supposed treatment. With gestures of pain, she posted a video in which she was seen lying between the white sheets of a bed that, according to her, was in a hospital in Spain.

She told anyone watching the video that she had undergone three surgeries and six chemotherapy sessions. As a result, she urgently needed money to pay for an innovative drug a Spanish pharmaceutical company was working on. It was the only cure, she asserted. But it was also a big lie.

The only truth was the photo. It was taken at a medical center, but after surgery to remove Elkabbas’s gall bladder.

However, she managed to raise about £45,000. She then began spending the money on luxury holidays, gambling, shopping, restaurants, and even in a VIP suite to watch a single match of Tottenham Hotspur.

The problem with social media is that everyone can see it, and the charade came to an end close to home. Her doctor discovered the fundraising page and notified the police. The “Spanish” hospital was, in reality, Spencer Hospital in Margate, Great Britain, which the doctor easily recognized.

In February of last year, investigators verified the scam and arrested her. Her jet-setting lifestyle came to an abrupt halt.

The judge found the woman’s “cunning and manipulative” deception “insulting to those who must genuinely and courageously face the battle against cancer,” the Daily Mail reported. He then sentenced her to two years and nine months in prison and ordered her to make restitution.

No Way Out

At one point, Elkabbas was going to have to repay her victims. However, she didn’t have any money. A court case followed to determine how she might be able to pay her debt through her assets. That didn’t go well, as she doesn’t have any. However, she will still need to pay the £5 as a token gesture.

During her initial trial, Elkabbas claimed she was innocent. She asserted that she thought she really did have cancer. However, that doesn’t explain her attempted ruse using a Spanish hospital and a Spanish doctor who didn’t exist.

Adding insult to injury, the criminal allegedly had assistance from her mother, who may not have been aware of what was happening. She set up a GoFundMe page for her daughter’s cancer while she was, in reality, dealing with ovarian cancer. However, there’s no mention of Elkabbas using some of her fortune to support her mother.