By Kyle Zamiara
Sports Editor
I faked illness for high school once or twice when I was younger. I got to stay home and miss a test or a class I just didn’t want to be in. No harm done to anyone or anything, except for maybe my GPA.
Some people have taken the sick day too far. Recent reports show faking illness on a grand scale. A woman pretended to have terminal cancer in order to receive donations for her dream wedding and honeymoon according to an April 10 CNN article.
Jessica Vega, 25, was arrested last week in Virginia and charged with one count of scheme to defraud, five counts of grand larceny and one count of criminal possession felonies and one misdemeanor. She could spend up to 24 years in prison if convicted.
Keri Ciastko, co-owner of Bliss Bridal, said Vega’s story seemed legitimate, especially with her shortened hair, according to an April 10 ABC News article.
“It came up in conversation that she had lost her hair due to this cancer,” Ciastko said. “She pulled at my heartstrings. I’ve lost a lot of family members to cancer, so I did everything I could to help her.”
Community members also donated money to Vega and her fiancé for a honeymoon in Aruba that included a time share, according to the article.
Michael O’Connell, Vega’s now ex-husband, said he had no idea she was faking the illness until he discovered a forged letter from a doctor. After four months of being married, O’Connell divorced Vega, who already had a child with another on the way.
With thousands of dollars stolen from multiple community members, including $2,000 from a local flower shop, Vega deserves to be put away for a long time. It’s a disgusting scheme that puts other cancer patients in question.
How would you feel if you or a family member had cancer and found out people were taking advantage of the disease you’re suffering from?
“By pretending to have a terminal illness, Vega inexcusably took advantage of the community’s hearts and minds, and profited off of their generosity,” Orange County Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in the same article. “Our office will hold this individual accountable for fleecing the public through lies and deception.”
People like Vega make generous, good-hearted citizens who reach out to people struggling look gullible and easily manipulated. Many of those citizens are likely to not be as nice, terminal illness or not, next time.
Lies can catch up with you faster than a fat kid scarfs down a Twinkie. Vega demonstrated the delicacy of trust and how easily lies can get you into trouble.
zamiarkj10@bonaventure.edu
