Mom Faked Cancer to Swindle Partner Out of $32,000 for 'Treatment,' Spent Money on Breast Surgery: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

A stock photo of a doctor.Photo:SimpleImages/Getty

SimpleImages/Getty

A British mother-of-two has been spared jail after allegedly duping her partner out of over $32,000 after pretending to have terminal cancer, it’s been reported.

The U.K. outlet stated that McPherson, who admitted fraud, had told Leonard that she’d been receiving treatment on the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), as well as privately, claiming she needed a mastectomy.

McPherson, who reportedly staged photographs of herself appearing to have life-saving chemotherapy, spent her partner’s money on breast-enhancement surgery and weight-loss treatment overseas,The Timesreported.

Jacob King/PA Images via Getty

“The school would regularly call me to say she had been crying and upset because she was worried her [mom] would die," Leonard told the court, perThe Telegraph, referencing McPherson’s daughter.

Leonard also called the private clinic where she was meant to be having a mastectomy so he could pay the bill, which was around $9,000, but he was told she’d had breast augmentation surgery instead of the cancer treatment,The Telegraphreported.

McPherson also previously funded the bill after McPherson claimed she was traveling to the private Mayr Clinic in Austria to have a hysterectomy. She’d actually been receiving “holistic wellbeing” and weight loss therapy,The Timesstated.

“The emotional toll this had taken on me is difficult to express in words,” Leonard told the court, perThe Telegraph. “I was left with deep emotional scars and don’t think I’ll ever trust people.”

Judge Jonathan Straw called McPherson a “wicked and devious liar" at the hearing, perThe Times.

The judge told McPherson, “You told those closest to you that you had been diagnosed with and were suffering from terminal forms of cancer. It is difficult to imagine how an individual could be so calculating and cruel to those that loved and cared for her,“The Telegraphreported.

A stock photo of a doctor and a patient.MoMo Productions/Getty Stock Image

MoMo Productions/Getty Stock Image

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McPherson and Leonard, who started dating in 2011, split up in 2022, perThe Times. She only admitted her deception during a court appearance in September 2024, the paper reported.

McPherson has been handed a two-year community order and must complete 30 days with a probation officer, according to the publication. If she fails to do so, she risks jail time. She also has to wear an electronic tag and observe a 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time curfew between Wednesdays and Sundays.

source: people.com