Canandaigua, N.Y. - A woman from Farmington who lied about a battle with cancer to raise money pleaded guilty in court Wednesday.
Melissa Jones admitted to two counts of grand larceny and two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Jones took about $20,000 in donations from people in the Canandaigua area after claiming she had cancer, prior to her arrest in February 2012.
The guilty plea to the grand larceny counts stem from two matters:
- Benefits Jones received from her employer, Thompson Health, based on false documents and forms she filed for medical leave and other benefits she got while out of work for cancer treatment. The benefits were in excess of $3,000.
- Donations Jones received for the "Hope For Melissa" fundraiser including individual donations, and gifts from Farnsworth Chevy, Genesee Valley Pennysaver, and others.
The guilty plea to criminal possession of a forged instrument counts stem two other matters:
- Forging a letter from an on oncologist who never existed.
- Forging a letter from a cancer treatment center.
While delivering her guilty plea, Jones admitted she never had cancer.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
