California Woman Fakes Cancer: Friends Who Shaved Their Heads, Got Tattoos, And Raised Thousands Left In Shock

California woman Meaghan Hudson faked cancer and now faces jail time for fraud. The 25-year-old Dayton, Ohio, native sent text messages to old friends in her hometown in December, informing them that she was suffering from multiple myeloma. This type of cancer forms inside bone marrow. Hudson told her friends that she was unlikely to survive the devastating cancer diagnosis.

Meaghan Hudson’s friends went to a lot of effort to lift her spirits and show their support and solidarity. A group of Dayton friends shaved their heads when Hudson said she began chemotherapy. The young women also tattooed an “inspirational song lyric” on their forearms and raised money for Meaghan.

The Chula Vista woman also benefited from a fundraising website created by her stepmom, Margaret Hudson. Approximately $5,000 was raised to help the “cancer patient” via the website and another $2,000 was garnered during a fundraiser held at a bowling alley.

Chelsey Whild, one of a group of Meaghan Hudson’s friends who shaved her head and got a tattoo, said, “At one point there was the understanding that she may have had less than a year to live.”

It was not only old friends back in Ohio the California woman deceived, as she apparently pulled the wool over relatives’ eyes as well. In addition to the online fundraising website created by Hudson’s stepmother, sister Haley Hudson said the entire family believed the detailed accounts of cancer doctor visits as well.

Haley Hudson said that some of the cancer “stories” her sister shared did not necessarily fall in line with typical cancer patient obstacles.

“Little stuff, like the fact that her hair grew back pretty thick and usually with cancer patients it doesn’t,” Haley said, adding that she felt her sister faking cancer was a “cry for attention.”

Meaghan Hudson’s cancer claims fell apart after the Chula Vista Police Department received an anonymous tip that the young woman was lying about being sick. Hudson confessed to faking cancer when visited by law enforcement investigators, according to police records.

Here’s an excerpt from a letter Meaghan Hudson’s stepmother wrote in order to apologize for Meaghan faking cancer, which was posted on the Give Forward fundraising website.

“I am saddened, embarrassed, and ashamed to have to give you this news, especially via email. You are receiving this message because you contributed to the cancer fundraiser back in December 2013 for Meaghan Hudson. We have recently learned that Meaghan does not have cancer. While initially that sounds like good news (and it is in many ways), she has deceived her family and friends into believing she has been suffering from multiple myeloma for over a year now. She is not sick, even despite her ongoing claims that she does have some type of illness that has simply not been diagnosed. I know that you have given your hard earned money out of sincere concern and support for Meaghan and our family. I can’t express to you how much I appreciate that and how very sorry I am that your generosity has been taken advantage of in this situation. She called her father on Wednesday night to confess to us personally and claims to be ready to make positive changes in her life.”

Margaret and Sean Hudson promised to repay every person who donated to the Meaghan Hudson cancer fundraiser. The young woman’s family only recently learned that she did not have a nursing degree and had not attended San Diego University as she had told them.

Meaghan Hudson was arrested on charges of grand theft and theft by deception. Her trial is slated to begin next week. Since the world discovered that the California woman was faking cancer, she had not had any more contact with her family and is believed to be living with a friend.

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