Illinois woman guilty after fooling people in cancer hoax

HIGHLAND, Ill. (AP) - A woman in southwestern Illinois pleaded guilty to fraud Tuesday in a medical hoax that tricked people who gave her money and other benefits.

Sarah Delashmit, 35, of Highland acknowledged she didn't have breast cancer or muscular dystrophy, yet she was given $2,500 in aid to attend Camp Summit in Texas in 2015 and 2016.

In 2018, Delashmit received more than $1,300 from Young Survival Coalition, a New York-based group serving people who have been diagnosed with cancer.

She appeared in federal court by video conference. Prosecutors have agreed to ask for an eight-month prison sentence on Jan. 19.

Elisabeth Hickox, 55, a financial adviser in Newport, Rhode Island, said Delashmit's victims were all over the country, especially after appearances on 'œDr. Phil.'ť

'œThis woman has wreaked havoc with my life, as well as the lives of so many people we know and care about and even people we don't know and that we care about,'ť Hickox told the Belleville News-Democrat.