KY woman accused of collecting donations for years while faking cancer

KENTON COUNTY, KY (FOX19) - A northern Kentucky woman is facing criminal charges after being accused of collecting thousands of dollars in donations while pretending to have cancer.

A Kenton County grand jury has indicted Jessica Krecskay for theft by deception. Prosecutors believe that from 2013 to 2017, Krecskay claimed she had cancer, which was not true.

Jessica Lunsford said that she and Krecskay worked together at a weight loss business during that time. Krecskay, according to Lunsford, told her colleagues that she was dying because she had ovarian cancer that had spread throughout her body. Co-workers came together to help.

“The other girls at work would clean her house for her, take her out to eat all the time," said Lunsford. "Gave their own sick time and vacation time hours to go towards her.”

They even put together and hosted a fundraiser for Krecskay. Through raffles and auctions, Lunsford said they raised about $10,000.

“The money that she got out of all of it is crazy," said Lunsford.

Though Krecskay told people about her diagnosis and openly shaved her head, Lunsford said she could also be secretive about it. Lunsford, who had already lost a close friend to brain cancer, felt like something was off. Lunsford said one day, a co-worker found Krecskay seemingly passed out at work, so they looked at the security footage to see what had happened.

“On camera, you can see her just lay down on the floor, and she’s on her phone texting, and when she heard the elevator beep, she dropped her phone like she was passed out laying there," said Lunsford.

Eventually, per Lunsford, managers confronted Krecskay and asked her for documentation. Kresckay then, Lunsford said, stopped showing up for work.

“You don’t have a choice in cancer, and to say all the stuff she said, just, it’s crazy,” said Lunsford. “It’s scary to think people are out there like that.”

The emotional toll that it took on Lunsford and on others still lingers. Lunsford said they are glad to see Krecskay charged because they want justice.

“Ten years wouldn’t be enough for this this," said Lunsford. "I mean that doesn’t stand anything compared to what she’s put people through.”

Lunsford said that Krecskay and her family ended up taking a trip to Disney, using money that co-workers and others had donated. Krecskay, Lunsford said, told people that the trip to Disney was going to be her last vacation because she only had days to live. That was several years ago.

Copyright 2019 WXIX. All rights reserved.