A woman in Ohio has pleaded guilty to faking her daughter's terminal cancer in a ruse to raise thousands of dollars in online donations.
Lindsey Abbuhl, 35, from Canton has been sentenced to six years in prison after admitting that she had lied publicly about her 11-year-old daughter’s illness in order to make money through a GoFundMe page she set up under the guise of raising money to pay for medical treatments.
The deceptive mum had even gone so far as to tell her daughter that she was dying of cancer, a lie which the 11-year-old believed and one that had prompted her to start preparing for her own death and funeral.
The GoFundMe page, named 'Rylee's Warriors', raised more than $4,500 before Abbuhl’s lies were uncovered and it was shut down.
Over the course of Lindsey’s conspiracy, Rylee was taken to frequent appointments at the doctor's and reminded by her mum that she was coming to the end of her life.
The young girl had even been seeing a counsellor who was helping her to come to terms with her imminent death and also believed that Rylee's diagnosis was real.
Last year, the court heard that the counsellor, who was going on maternity leave, was told by Rylee’' mother she may be dead by the time she returned.
Now, after the court found no evidence to support Abbuhl’s claim that her daughter was terminally ill, the woman has admitted to both second-degree child endangerment and fourth-degree theft in a plea deal that required her to pay $8,529.90 in damages to victims.
Rylee's father, Jamie Abbuhl, who divorced Linsey in 2017 and originally raised concerns about his daughter's alleged illness, has now been given full custody of his child.
The ruse began when Lindsey started telling friends and neighbours about her daughter’s illness and set up a page to encourage others to follow Rylee’s journey, which she frequently updated with news of medical appointments and changes.
To the unbeknown followers of the page, Rylee and her family simply seemed plagued with bad luck and in need of support from the community.
She wrote on the page: "This little lady is my best friend! Continue to say prayers for her as we navigate through her medical concerns.
"We don't know what her future holds, and we don't know if tomorrow will come for her each time we go to bed but the prayers and faith of all those we love helps keep us going!"
Lindsey even manages to organise fundraising events, including bowling fundraisers at the bowling alley where she worked and a youth softball tournament.
Rylee was flooded with messages of support, including personalised videos from some of her idols, like pro star Sierra Romero and softball players from her favourite team, Notre Dame University in Indiana, who took her on a virtual tour of the campus.
Rylee and her mum were invited by Texas A&M's softball team to fly out to College Station in Texas, where they visited Sea World for free. A wish-granting charity even sent the pair on a trip to Key West in Florida.
All the while, Rylee's father was becoming suspicious about his daughter's supposed illnesses, as did other members of the community - some of whom approached The Canton Repository newspaper with their worries.
Lindsey declined multiple requests to release Rylee's medical records for the newspaper to review and claimed that despite having a "whole team of doctors" working on her, they were unable to determine the reason for her illness.
She said her daughter experienced seizures, loss of appetite and extreme pain and fatigue, for which she was on medication.
She claimed The Repository's request for more information about Rylee was "sad" and accused others of trying to "cause drama" by digging into the case.
