PC:BBC
A man from Strabane in Northern Ireland has been given 18 months’ probation and 100 hours of community service after admitting he falsely claimed to have three different cancers while a GoFundMe page raised £3,280 on his behalf. Stephen Patrick Doherty, aged 29, spent the money on a dog and on travelling to Liverpool matches, according to The Irish Times. At Derry Magistrate’s Court on Friday, Deputy District Judge Alan White also ordered him to pay £250 in compensation to the woman who set up the page and £400 in compensation to the Foyle Hospice. The page raised £3,280. The judge imposed an enhanced combination order of 18 months’ probation and 100 hours of community service. He also ordered Doherty to pay £250 in compensation to the woman who set up the page and £400 in compensation to the Foyle Hospice.
Because the local community had discovered he was not ill, doherty told police he came forward.
Doherty handed himself in to police and told them he had committed fraud by claiming to have three different cancers. He said a GoFundMe page was set up on his behalf by a friend in good faith, according to the report. Reportedly, Doherty told police he had spent the money on a dog and on travelling to Liverpool matches. The court heard, the newspaper reported, that the woman was “really upset” and had no contact with Doherty, as she felt she had been taken advantage of. A prosecution spokesperson told the court that Doherty knew he did not have cancer when the page was set up. Defence counsel Stephen Mooney told the court it was difficult to find the right adjective for the offence, but that there was no doubt it was so serious that an immediate custodial sentence was possible. The barrister said Doherty wanted to apologise and had handed himself in to police. He also said his client had come to adverse media attention. Deputy District Judge Alan White said the court had limited choices and that he could jail Doherty, but only for a short period.
The page was set up by a friend who was acting in good faith, and Doherty handed himself in to the police.