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| Kelly Johanneson at Fundraising Event |
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| Kelly Johanneson Arrest Photo |
What could possibly be worse than learning that your family member, or friend, or member of your community is in the final stages of breast cancer?
Well, for family in friends of Kelly Johanneson, it’s probably in finding out the cancer story has been one big ass lie.
Police say that Johanneson, 36, disappeared for a month in late 2013 and when she resurfaced, she told friends and family that she had been at the Moffitt Cancer Center for testing, where she'd been diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer.
After hearing the saddening news, her loved ones sprang into action, setting up a GoFundMe page and holding fundraisers in Johanneson's honor.
Her hometown rallied behind her as well, with events like one held by the Citrus County Airboat Alliance, where Johanneson collected hundreds of dollars for her alleged medical bills.
In September 2014, after receiving a tip that Johanneson might be faking cancer, police decided to further investigate her story.
They spoke to her friends and family before interviewing Johanneson herself, who provided investigators with contact info for her doctors at the Moffitt Cancer Center.
But when detectives reached out to the hospital, the center said it had no record of Johanneson at all.
"This is the first case in Citrus County of its kind," Detective John Bergen told Bay News 9. "It just seems so implausible that someone would use a horrible illness like cancer for personal gain."
He added: "Johanneson hurt so many people – from people that loved her to people that hardly knew her but wanted to help."
Kelly Johanneson has been charged with organized fraud.
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