Heather Leigh Hume, a North Carolina woman, has been arrested on suspicion of lying about having kidney cancer and stealing donations intended to pay medical bills.
Hume, a High Point resident, is accused of a felony attempt to obtain property by false pretense.
She was arrested on April 23rd, and taken to the Randolph County Detention Center and charged. Her bond was set at $5,000, and she is due to appear in Randolph County District Court on May 13th to face charges.
In March, Hume approached a local recreational center about putting on a fundraising event to help pay for her cancer treatment. The center agreed and set up the event to take place in June. The group became suspicious of the 21-year-old and her apparent illness after speaking to her about her bills. The group then contacted the sheriff’s office.
After being questioned by officers, Hume has admitted that she does not have cancer. Heather Leigh Hume is the second woman arrested for lying about having cancer in Randolph County within a month.
Amy Ellissa Hammer of Seagrove lied about having chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Days before a church fundraiser arranged to help pay for her medical bills, she admitted that she lied about having cancer.
Several businesses had donated items and services for a raffle, and they were shocked to hear why the event was canceled. “We’re just surprised by it, shocked by it, it’s bad for this community that someone would do that. You can’t trust people, and it makes us not want to donate because of people like that,” said one of the business owners that donated.
Hammer claims that she didn’t want money, but lied about having cancer to keep her husband in a crumbling marriage.
“When he said he was going to leave me, it was an impulsive thing,” Hammer said. “We’ve been together so long, I was scared, terrified. That’s my three kids, my husband that I’ve known for so long. So it was an impulsive thing and it snowballed.”
She also launched a Facebook page called “Amy’s Promise” about her fake illness and solicited cash for non-existent medical bills. Investigators learned she had also sold t-shirts, advertising that the profits were going towards medical bills.
Hammer has said that she will return any money that was given to her by members of the community, although it’s not clear how much she collected. She is facing three felony counts of obtaining property by false pretense, and one felony count of attempting to obtain property by false pretense.
