Photo: WSYX/WTTE
A former Ohio State University nurse will spend two years behind bars after she lied about having terminal cancer and schemed her co-workers into giving her money, gifts, and covering her shifts.
Tawni Fuller, who claimed to have lung cancer, received her 24-month sentence on Monday, after she pled guilty last month to telecommunications fraud, theft, and forgery, according toABC 6.
Fuller, 34, began lying to her co-workers about her medical condition in 2016. Using the made-up illness, she was given cash, and gift cards from her friends and work acquaintances. Some offered to cover her shifts as she “fought” the illness.
She also scammed her employer out of thousands of dollars in sick pay.
Tawni Fuller.WSYX/WTTE
After Fuller reportedly sent text messages towards the end of 2016 detailing her “miraculous” recovery that “boggled” doctors, the truth about her illness began to surface,The Columbus Dispatchreported.
At Monday’s sentencing, more than 20 victims showed up to testify against the woman they believed desperately needed their help. One friend, Carrie Malfatto, explained that she drove Fuller to a massage and pedicure, where she walked slowly with a cane and wore a headscarf, theDispatchreported.
“I spent hours crying about Tawni’s case and how I couldn’t make it better,” she said, according to the outlet. “This person’s moral compass is broken.”
Another friend, Tina Dalzell, said that Fuller had exploited Dalzell’s husband’s sudden death in 2016, telling Dalzell she had seen her husband in the afterlife during a near-death experience, according to theDispatch.
“Only a cruel, narcissistic person could watch me go through such pain and suffering,” Dalzell said, noting that Fuller “hobbled” on a walker during her husband’s wake and sat in the front row. “I am offended and disgusted that she mocked cancer patients.”
In a statement to the courtroom, Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien expressed her disbelief for the “horrifying” situation.
“Ms. Fuller took much more than money,” O’Brien continued. “She stole time and trust; she caused serious and lasting harm to the victims’ faith in humanity.”
RELATED VIDEO: Body of Missing Ky. Woman with Cancer Is Found in Woods, and 3 Are Charged with ‘Despicable’ Crime
Delaware County Common Pleas Judge Everett Krueger echoed her sentiments, sharing that this was the first time he dealt with such an “evil” case.
“It’s just like nothing I’ve ever heard in all the years I’ve been doing this,” Krueger said, according to theDispatch. “It’s almost evil what I heard today. It’s just plain evil.”
According to ABC, Fuller told the Ohio Board of Nursing that she lied about having cancer and blamed her actions on her mental illness and depression.
“I was suffering — so stuck and lost that I couldn’t get out,” she added, according to theDispatch. “I never wanted to hurt any of you.”
source: people.com
