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A Liverpool woman who claimed she was dying of cancer so her friends could contribute thousands of pounds to the cost of her dream wedding has been jailed.
Toni Standen, 29, of West Derby, made up the story that ovarian cancer had spread to other parts of her body and that she had received a terminal diagnosis.
Close friends launched a GoFundMe page to give Standen and his partner “a wedding they deserve.”
Standen, now of Widnes, later pleaded guilty to fraud.
She appeared in Chester Magistrates Court today when District Judge Nicholas Sanders jailed her for five months and ordered her to return a donation of £ 2,000 made by a local businessman.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that in June 2015, Standen told two of her friends, Ashlea Rowson and Jennifer Douglas, that she had been diagnosed with terminal vaginal cancer.
Ms. Standen provided regular updates on her treatment to her friends with such clarity and detail that the condition was never questioned.
He also shaved his head to make it look like he was in treatment and shared images of this on social media.
Her seemingly heartbreaking story was covered by ECHO and Mirror, and Standen raised £ 8,344 via the crowdfunding page and through giveaways including flowers and cars for the wedding.
Standen tugged at the heart strings saying she wanted her father Derek, who was actually dying of cancer, to walk her down the hall.
Derek died before the wedding, but a video was played that recorded the big day.
Guests said that after the recording was played, Standen was making jokes.
One guest said: “After listening to the laborious words of his father, he got up and made an impeccable speech, even cracking a few jokes.
“His mother and brother were devastated. We had all just heard the message from the father of the bride from beyond the grave.
“Toni even got a video message from Everton FC, delivered by one of the best players. She laughed the whole way.”
Suspicion grew around Standen’s condition after the wedding.
He finally admitted what he had done in a three way phone call with his friends who recorded. On the call he admitted that he did not have cancer and never had it.
In a text message to her friends after admitting her scam, she said, “I love you both, I am grateful for everything in the last two years.
“I am so sorry for all this, I am ashamed and heartbroken and right now I am struggling. There is so much I want to say but I am struggling where to start.
“At the moment I don’t know if Jim and I will get a divorce, I don’t blame him if he does and I don’t blame both of them if this is the end, I fully understand it and I will have to somehow move on”
Neil Colville, CPS Mersey Cheshire Senior District Attorney told ECHO: “Toni Standen invented a terminal illness to gain sympathy and then saw her friends raise money to support her during what they thought were her final years. He used that money to finance a wedding and a vacation.
“His own father was really sick, but his condition was a fraud. As the years passed, he seemed to have sunk more and more into deception and seemed unable to tell the truth and put an end to the deception.
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“A local businessman donated £ 2,000 because he was so moved by his plight. He said in a personal statement from the victim that he would think twice about donating to this kind of charity again.
“This was a sophisticated fraud, carried out over several years and has left their friends and others devastated. They feel let down and betrayed.
“It is clear that this has also had a devastating effect on Ms. Standen. But she is only to blame and now she will spend Christmas and several months later behind bars. “
Judge Sanders, in sentencing, said: “You continued to adorn that fabric of lies, saying that you had weeks to live.
“I don’t accept that you couldn’t stop. Not only did you not stop, but you made it worse by giving interviews to newspapers to build sympathy among the public.
“You used that money raised thanks to the generosity of strangers to finance a wedding and a vacation. You kept receiving money for many months.
“Any member of society who thinks correctly would be horrified by his behavior.”
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