Woman sets up GoFundMe page to fight cancer, police say diagnosis was all a lie

Michigan authorities have stepped in after it was discovered that a donations page for a woman supposedly suffering from cancer was fake.

now-deleted GoFundMe campaign has raised about $31,645 since last April, WXYZ reported. About 400 people donated to "Candace Kicks Cancer," believing to be helping a Brighton woman fight the illness.

Though the Brighton Police Department is still investigating the campaign, they have concluded that it is in fact based on false pretenses. The woman behind the campaign, however, is very much real.

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Candace Streng's friends have disavowed her actions. A group calling themselves Candace's South Lyon Play Group addressed the deceit with WXYZ:

We were recently informed that our 'friend,' Candace lied for several years about struggling with stage four breast cancer. We let her into our homes, our families and our checkbooks. We had no prior knowledge of her deceit and are fully cooperating with the investigation. We sincerely hope Candace gets the help she so desperately needs.

Since that time, GoFundMe announced that it banned Streng from the site and was “working with law enforcement officials to ensure donors are refunded.”

The group also released a statement about misuse:

Additionally, it's important to remember that misuse is extremely rare on our platform. Campaigns with misuse make up less than one-tenth of one percent of all campaigns. With that said, there are unfortunate and rare instances where people create campaigns with the intention to take advantage of others' generosity.

Those who have donated and wish to be refunded can do so at the following link.

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