Woonsocket Woman Ordered To Repay $26k In Fake Cancer Donations

WOONSOCKET, RI — A Woonsocket woman was ordered to pay back more than $26,000 in donations after she falsely claimed to have cancer. Alicia Pierini, 39, pleaded no contest to one count of obtaining money under false pretenses over $1,500.

Pierini was given a 10-year suspended sentence with 10 years of probation, and ordered to repay restitution totaling $26,993.26 to the victims.

"Today’s sentence is a significant step forward to ensure that those who were victimized by the defendant’s scheme are made whole," Attorney General Peter Neronha said. "I suspect, however, that no amount of restitution will fully repair the harm done to the trust and relationships between her family, friends, and generous members of the public."

Pierini was arrested in June 2017 after falsely claiming that she had cancer, soliciting donations from family, friends and the public through a GoFundMe page. State police began their investigation after several people reported that the story seemed skeptical. The donations were, in reality, used to pay for trips, sports tickets and other personal purchases rather than medical care.

According to the state police investigation, Pierini created the fraudulent GoFundMe page in January 2017, claiming she had been diagnosed with cancer. She then shaved her head and eyebrows to make the scam more believable.

In total, Pierini received more than $26,000 in donations. The donations were used to pay for trips, sports tickets and other personal purchases rather than medical care, which was proven by financial records.

In court, Pierini was ordered to pay back $10,840 in donations given to her directly by family and friends, as well as $16,153,26 to GoFundMe, which already reimbursed those who donated to the page.