Sara Ylen Faked Cancer, Sentenced To One Year In Prison After Fraud Netted Her $122,000

Sara Ylen was sentenced to an additional year in prison on Wednesday after her “almost mind-boggling” scam to swindle money from an insurance company saw her fake that she was dying of cervical cancer.

Ylen is believed to have tricked several individuals from small communities that she had the illness, even though she had a clean bill of health. Authorities have since revealed the extent of her lie, stating that not one doctor came forward to even hint that Ylen was suffering from cancer.

Ylen’s claim dates back to 2001, when she alleged that she developed cervical cancer after she was sexual assaulted. She then told people that she had been treated for the disease at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, which is located in Zion, Illinois.

However, the cancer hospital has since confirmed that they have no record of her as a patient, while the Mercy Hospice, which is based in Michigan, also decided to stop treating her in 2011 after results showed that she wasn’t close to death.

Ylen received thousands of dollars from people who heard about her dreadful plight in the Port Huron Times Herald. Investigators soon discovered that she had actually forged medical records, which also saw her produce documents that featured the letterhead of the University of Michigan, a renowned institute for cancer specialists.

The 38-year-old’s one-year punishment for fraud has actually just been added to a five-year prison sentence that she is currently serving, after she was found guilty of deceit for falsely accusing two men of rape. One of these men, James Grissom, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but he was released in 2012 after a judge threw out the conviction.

Last month, she pleaded no contest to the charges of fraud through false pretenses and false statements. Sanilac County Circuit Judge Donald Teeple told the court, “All of these fraudulent acts that you perpetrated on so many people, and the extent that you went to perpetrate them, is almost mind-boggling. You took advantage of the goodwill and generosity of people who were more than willing to assist you, all based on lies.”

She has yet to explain her reasons for the deception, and David Heyboer, Ylen’s defense attorney, stated outside the court after the verdict, “I don’t know what took place. I’m not a doctor. I don’t know if you’re going to have a heart attack in a minute.”

Ylen now owes Michigan’s Blue Cross Blue Shield around $122,000, while a 2012 event at Croswell Wesleyan Church also saw $10,800 raised for her.

[Image via Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock]