Texas woman Trista Joy Lathern, 24, fakes cancer to get breast implants
Generous Texans are feeling duped and angry after it came to light that a woman who solicited over $10K in donations to treat her breast cancer used the funds to upgrade her healthy breasts.
Trista Joy Lathern, 24, shaved her head to further the scam, but investigators say she never suffered from cancer in the first place. At least two-dozen individuals and businesses donated money or merchandise to Lathern’s scam, which came to light when Lathern’s surgeon expressed concern that her $6800 breast augmentation surgery had been paid for in stolen funds. Police explained the possible motives behind Lathern’s behavior:
“Trista said she and her husband had been (having) marital problems and she thought telling him she had cancer would bring them closer together,” the affidavit said. It goes on,”Trista confesses that she gave $3,500 to a local plastic surgeon for an augmentation and later had a bilateral breast augmentation performed in Austin, Texas, costing approximately $6,800.”
Charity events for Lathern snared four bands, a raffle, a silent auction and a bake sale. Trista Lathern is charged with “theft by deception over $1,500, but under $20,000.”
