Fake Cancer Scammer Scheduled for Sentencing Thursday

Lori Stilley, the Delran woman who pleaded guilty to a charge for third-degree theft by deception in May for swindling people out of thousands of dollars by pretending to have terminal bladder cancer, is scheduled for sentencing on Thursday. 

Stilley’s sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. in courtroom 7A at the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. Judge James W. Palmer will preside over the sentencing.

Stilley has called for a plea deal of four years of probation, $15,000-$20,000 restitution payments, a psychiatric evaluation, 100 hours of community service and relinquishing her right to appeal the conviction. 

Stilley, who was arrested in September 2012, began the scheme in February 2011 after posting on Facebook and informing family and friends that she had Stage III bladder cancer. Her fake cancer supposedly worsened to Stage IV in April.

To help her pay for medical costs, fundraisers were held in her honor that brought in thousands of dollars. One fundraiser, which consisted of a banquet and T-shirt sale, raised $8,000 alone.

In addition, Stilley wrote an e-book called I’Mpossible: How a Facebook Group Loved Me Through Bladder Cancer that earned more than $3,000 in sales. She also engineered a wedding so that she could marry her boyfriend before her death. Supporters put up the money to pay for the wedding venue. 

Stilley was investigated after she told supporters she was entering hospice care and informed everyone that she had received a “miracle cure.”

Stilley, who has been out on $25,000 bail since being arrested, was originally scheduled for sentencing on July 26. However, the date was postponed.